Aggregation of positioning signal and supplemental signal

ABSTRACT

A signal processing method includes: receiving, at a UE, a PRS and a supplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal and spanning a first frequency range at least partially outside of a second frequency range spanned by the PRS; processing, at the UE, the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effective signal bandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, to determine position information; and at least one of: transmitting a capability message, from the UE to a network entity, indicating a processing capability of the UE to process, in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal; or transmitting a signal-combination indication, from the UE to the network entity, indicating that the UE processed the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination to determine the position information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Greek Patent Application No.20200100711, filed Dec. 3, 2020, entitled “AGGREGATION OF POSITIONINGSIGNAL AND SUPPLEMENTAL SIGNAL,” which is assigned to the assigneehereof, and the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated hereinby reference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication systems have developed through variousgenerations, including a first-generation analog wireless phone service(1G), a second-generation (2G) digital wireless phone service (includinginterim 2.5G and 2.75G networks), a third-generation (3G) high speeddata, Internet-capable wireless service, a fourth-generation (4G)service (e.g., Long Term Evolution (LTE) or WiMax), a fifth-generation(5G) service, etc. There are presently many different types of wirelesscommunication systems in use, including Cellular and PersonalCommunications Service (PCS) systems. Examples of known cellular systemsinclude the cellular Analog Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS), anddigital cellular systems based on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiple Access (OFDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), theGlobal System for Mobile access (GSM) variation of TDMA, etc.

A fifth generation (5G) mobile standard calls for higher data transferspeeds, greater numbers of connections, and better coverage, among otherimprovements. The 5G standard, according to the Next Generation MobileNetworks Alliance, is designed to provide data rates of several tens ofmegabits per second to each of tens of thousands of users, with 1gigabit per second to tens of workers on an office floor. Severalhundreds of thousands of simultaneous connections should be supported inorder to support large sensor deployments. Consequently, the spectralefficiency of 5G mobile communications should be significantly enhancedcompared to the current 4G standard. Furthermore, signaling efficienciesshould be enhanced and latency should be substantially reduced comparedto current standards.

SUMMARY

An example User equipment configured for wireless signal transferincludes: an interface; a memory; and a processor, communicativelycoupled to the interface and the memory, and configured to: receive, viathe interface, a PRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplementalsignal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal and spanning afirst frequency range at least partially outside of a second frequencyrange spanned by the PRS; process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination, resulting in an effective signal bandwidth that is largerthan the second frequency range, to determine position information; andat least one of: transmit a capability message, via the interface to anetwork entity, indicating a processing capability of the user equipmentto process, in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal; ortransmit a signal-combination indication, via the interface to thenetwork entity, indicating that the processor processed the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination to determine the positioninformation.

Implementations of such a user equipment may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The processor is configured to coherently combine the PRSand the supplemental signal to determine the position information. Theprocessor is configured to transmit the capability message with thecapability message further indicating whether the processor is able toprocess the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination with the PRSand the supplemental signal having different numerologies. The processoris configured to transmit the capability message with the capabilitymessage indicating the processing capability of the user equipment toprocess, in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal and acorresponding frequency band or a corresponding frequency bandcombination. The processor is configured to transmit the capabilitymessage with the capability message indicating a minimum overlap of thefirst frequency range and the second frequency range. The processor isconfigured to transmit the capability message with the capabilitymessage indicating a maximum time associated with the PRS and thesupplemental signal. The processor is configured to transmit thecapability message with the capability message indicating a positioninformation accuracy and at least one of whether the PRS and thesupplemental signal overlap in frequency, an amount of frequency overlapof the PRS and the supplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or aphase offset accuracy. The processor is configured to transmit thesignal-combination indication indicating an accuracy of the positioninformation.

Another example user equipment configured for wireless signal transferincludes: means for receiving a PRS (positioning reference signal) and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signaland spanning a first frequency range at least partially outside of asecond frequency range spanned by the PRS; means for processing the PRSand the supplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effectivesignal bandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, todetermine position information; and at least one of: first transmittingmeans for transmitting a capability message, to a network entity,indicating a processing capability of the user equipment to process, incombination, the PRS and the supplemental signal; or second transmittingmeans for transmitting a signal-combination indication, to the networkentity, indicating that the user equipment processed the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination to determine the positioninformation.

Implementations of such a user equipment may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The means for processing include means for coherentlycombining the PRS and the supplemental signal to determine the positioninformation. The user equipment includes the first transmitting means,and the capability message further indicates whether the user equipmentis able to process the PRS and the supplemental signal in combinationwith the PRS and the supplemental signal having different numerologies.The user equipment includes the first transmitting means, the userequipment further including means for producing the capability messageto indicate the processing capability of the user equipment to process,in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal and a correspondingfrequency band or a corresponding frequency band combination. The userequipment includes the first transmitting means, the user equipmentfurther including means for producing the capability message to indicatea minimum overlap of the first frequency range and the second frequencyrange. The user equipment includes the first transmitting means, theuser equipment further including means for producing the capabilitymessage to indicate a maximum time associated with the PRS and thesupplemental signal. The user equipment includes the first transmittingmeans, the user equipment further including means for producing thecapability message to indicate a position information accuracy and atleast one of whether the PRS and the supplemental signal overlap infrequency, an amount of frequency overlap of the PRS and thesupplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or a phase offset accuracy.The user equipment includes the second transmitting means, the userequipment further including means for producing the signal-combinationindication to indicate an accuracy of the position information.

An example signal processing method includes: receiving, at a UE (userequipment), a PRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplementalsignal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal and spanning afirst frequency range at least partially outside of a second frequencyrange spanned by the PRS; processing, at the UE, the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effective signalbandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, to determineposition information; and at least one of: transmitting a capabilitymessage, from the UE to a network entity, indicating a processingcapability of the UE to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal; or transmitting a signal-combination indication,from the UE to the network entity, indicating that the UE processed thePRS and the supplemental signal in combination to determine the positioninformation.

Implementations of such a method may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. Processing the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination includes coherently combining the PRS and the supplementalsignal to determine the position information. The signal processingmethod includes transmitting the capability message, and the signalprocessing method further includes producing the capability message toindicate whether the UE is able to process the PRS and the supplementalsignal in combination with the PRS and the supplemental signal havingdifferent numerologies. The signal processing method includestransmitting the capability message, and the signal processing methodfurther includes producing the capability message to indicate theprocessing capability of the UE to process, in combination, the PRS andthe supplemental signal and a corresponding frequency band or acorresponding frequency band combination. The signal processing methodincludes transmitting the capability message, and the signal processingmethod further includes producing the capability message to indicate aminimum overlap of the first frequency range and the second frequencyrange. The signal processing method includes transmitting the capabilitymessage, and the signal processing method further includes producing thecapability message to indicate a maximum time associated with the PRSand the supplemental signal. The signal processing method includestransmitting the capability message, and the signal processing methodfurther includes producing the capability message to indicate a positioninformation accuracy and at least one of whether the PRS and thesupplemental signal overlap in frequency, an amount of frequency overlapof the PRS and the supplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or aphase offset accuracy. The signal processing method includestransmitting the signal-combination indication, and the signalprocessing method further includes producing the signal-combinationindication to indicate an accuracy of the position information.

An example non-transitory, processor-readable storage medium includesprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause a processor of a UE(user equipment) to: receive a PRS (positioning reference signal) and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signaland spanning a first frequency range at least partially outside of asecond frequency range spanned by the PRS; process the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effective signalbandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, to determineposition information; and at least one of: transmit a capabilitymessage, to a network entity, indicating a processing capability of theUE to process, in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal; ortransmit a signal-combination indication, to the network entity,indicating that the processor processed the PRS and the supplementalsignal in combination to determine the position information.

Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The processor-readable instructions configured to causethe processor to process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination include processor-readable instructions configured to causethe processor to coherently combine the PRS and the supplemental signalto determine the position information. The storage medium includes theprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor totransmit the capability message, and the storage medium further includesprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor toproduce the capability message to indicate whether the UE is able toprocess the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination with the PRSand the supplemental signal having different numerologies. The storagemedium includes the processor-readable instructions configured to causethe processor to transmit the capability message, and the storage mediumfurther includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to produce the capability message to indicate the processingcapability of the UE to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal and a corresponding frequency band or acorresponding frequency band combination. The storage medium includesthe processor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor totransmit the capability message, and the storage medium further includesprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor toproduce the capability message to indicate a minimum overlap of thefirst frequency range and the second frequency range. The storage mediumincludes the processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to transmit the capability message, and the storage mediumfurther includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to produce the capability message to indicate a maximum timeassociated with the PRS and the supplemental signal. The storage mediumincludes the processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to transmit the capability message, and the storage mediumfurther includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to produce the capability message to indicate a positioninformation accuracy and at least one of whether the PRS and thesupplemental signal overlap in frequency, an amount of frequency overlapof the PRS and the supplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or aphase offset accuracy. The storage medium includes theprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor totransmit the signal-combination indication, and the storage mediumfurther includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to produce the signal-combination indication to indicate anaccuracy of the position information.

An example network entity includes: an interface; a memory; and aprocessor, communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, andconfigured to: receive, via the interface, a capability messageindicating a processing capability of a user equipment to process, incombination, a PRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplementalsignal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal; and requesttransmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal from a TRP(transmission/reception point) in accordance with one or more criteriato enable the user equipment to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.

Implementations of such a network entity may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The processor is configured request the TRP to transmitthe PRS and the supplemental signal using the same antenna port. Theprocessor is configured request the TRP to transmit the PRS and thesupplemental signal using quasi co-located antenna ports. The processoris configured to analyze the capability message for the one or morecriteria. The one or more criteria include a relative timing of the PRSand the supplemental signal. The processor is configured request the TRPto transmit, via the interface to the user equipment, a scaling factorindicative of a power scaling between the PRS and the supplementalsignal.

Another example network entity includes: means for receiving, from auser equipment, a capability message indicating a processing capabilityof the user equipment to process, in combination, a PRS (positioningreference signal) and a supplemental signal, the supplemental signalbeing a broadcast signal; and means for requesting transmission of thePRS and the supplemental signal from a TRP (transmission/receptionpoint) in accordance with one or more criteria to enable the userequipment to process, in combination, the PRS and the supplementalsignal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.

Implementations of such a network entity may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The means for requesting transmission of the PRS and thesupplemental signal include means for requesting the TRP to transmit thePRS and the supplemental signal using the same antenna port. The meansfor requesting transmission of the PRS and the supplemental signalinclude means for requesting the TRP to transmit the PRS and thesupplemental signal using quasi co-located antenna ports. The networkentity further includes means for analyzing the capability message forthe one or more criteria. The one or more criteria include a relativetiming of the PRS and the supplemental signal. The network entityfurther includes means for requesting the TRP to transmit, to the userequipment, a scaling factor indicative of a power scaling between thePRS and the supplemental signal.

An example signal transmission requesting method includes: receiving, ata network entity from a user equipment, a capability message indicatinga processing capability of the user equipment to process, incombination, a PRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplementalsignal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal; and requestingtransmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal from a TRP(transmission/reception point) in accordance with one or more criteriato enable the user equipment to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.

Implementations of such a method may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The requesting transmission of the PRS and thesupplemental signal includes requesting the TRP to transmit the PRS andthe supplemental signal using the same antenna port. The requestingtransmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal includes requestingthe TRP to transmit the PRS and the supplemental signal using quasico-located antenna ports. The signal requesting method further includesanalyzing the capability message for the one or more criteria. The oneor more criteria include a relative timing of the PRS and thesupplemental signal. The signal transmission requesting method furtherincludes requesting the TRP to transmit, to the user equipment, ascaling factor indicative of a power scaling between the PRS and thesupplemental signal.

Another example non-transitory, processor-readable storage mediumincludes processor-readable instructions configured to cause a processorof a network entity to: receive, from a user equipment, a capabilitymessage indicating a processing capability of the user equipment toprocess, in combination, a PRS (positioning reference signal) and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal;and request transmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal from aTRP (transmission/reception point) in accordance with one or morecriteria to enable the user equipment to process, in combination, thePRS and the supplemental signal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.

Implementations of such a storage medium may include one or more of thefollowing features. The supplemental signal is a synchronization signalblock signal. The processor-readable instructions configured to causethe processor to request transmission of the PRS and the supplementalsignal include processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to request the TRP to transmit the PRS and the supplementalsignal using the same antenna port. The processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the processor to request transmission of the PRS andthe supplemental signal include processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the processor to request the TRP to transmit the PRSand the supplemental signal using quasi co-located antenna ports. Thestorage medium further includes processor-readable instructionsconfigured to cause the processor to analyze the capability message forthe one or more criteria. The one or more criteria include a relativetiming of the PRS and the supplemental signal. The storage mediumfurther includes processor-readable instructions configured to cause theprocessor to request the TRP to transmit, to the user equipment, ascaling factor indicative of a power scaling between the PRS and thesupplemental signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of an example wireless communicationssystem.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of components of an example user equipmentshown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of components of an exampletransmission/reception point.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of components of an example server, variousembodiments of which are shown in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example user equipment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a network entity.

FIG. 7 is a timing diagram of frequency division multiplexed signals.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram showing departure times and arrivals times oftwo signals.

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram of resource blocks of asynchronized signal block signal.

FIG. 10 is a timing diagram of a downlink positioning reference signaland two instances of a synchronized signal block signal.

FIG. 11 is an example of a combined signal processing capability reportof a user equipment.

FIG. 12 is an example of a position information report from a userequipment.

FIG. 13 is a signaling and process flow for determining positioninformation.

FIG. 14 is a block flow diagram of a signal processing method.

FIG. 15 is a block flow diagram of a signal transmission requestingmethod.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Techniques are discussed herein for managing positioning signalprocessing. For example, a user equipment (UE) may provide one or moreindications of processing capability of the UE for processing acombination of a positioning reference signal (PRS) and a supplementalsignal. Processing capabilities may be indicated for differentcapabilities of combined processing of the PRS and the supplementalsignal. For example, the UE may indicate a position information accuracy(e.g., measurement accuracy and/or position estimate accuracy) that theUE will provide corresponding to one or more criteria for the PRS and/orthe supplemental signal. The one or more criteria may include one ormore of a frequency band, a frequency band combination, a frequencyoverlap, a frequency separation (e.g., a maximum frequency gap insub-bands), a requirement that the PRS and the supplemental signal beadjacent in frequency, a time separation (e.g., maximum gap in symbols),a requirement that the PRS and the supplemental signal be adjacent intime (e.g., in consecutive symbols), a phase offset, and/or a timedrift. A network entity may configure, e.g., schedule, transmission ofthe PRS and the supplemental signal to facilitate combined processing.For example, the network entity may ensure that the PRS and thesupplemental signal meet one or more transmission criteria specified bya user equipment for combined processing of PRS and the supplementalsignal. The one or more transmission criteria may include relativefrequencies of the PRS and the supplemental signal and/or use of thesame antenna port for transmitting the PRS and the supplemental signal.The network entity may indicate a power scaling between the PRS and thesupplemental signal. These are examples, and other examples (e.g., ofUEs and/or criteria) may be implemented.

Items and/or techniques described herein may provide one or more of thefollowing capabilities, as well as other capabilities not mentioned.Mobile device position determination accuracy may be increased, e.g.,lateral (horizontal) and/or vertical (altitude) position. Positionscheduling accuracy may be increased. An ability to determine (e.g.,anticipate) satisfaction of one or more positioning requirements may beimproved. Other capabilities may be provided and not everyimplementation according to the disclosure must provide any, let aloneall, of the capabilities discussed.

Obtaining the locations of mobile devices that are accessing a wirelessnetwork may be useful for many applications including, for example,emergency calls, personal navigation, consumer asset tracking, locatinga friend or family member, etc. Existing positioning methods includemethods based on measuring radio signals transmitted from a variety ofdevices or entities including satellite vehicles (SVs) and terrestrialradio sources in a wireless network such as base stations and accesspoints. It is expected that standardization for the 5G wireless networkswill include support for various positioning methods, which may utilizereference signals transmitted by base stations in a manner similar towhich LTE wireless networks currently utilize Positioning ReferenceSignals (PRS) and/or Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRS) for positiondetermination.

The description may refer to sequences of actions to be performed, forexample, by elements of a computing device. Various actions describedherein can be performed by specific circuits (e.g., an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC)), by program instructions beingexecuted by one or more processors, or by a combination of both.Sequences of actions described herein may be embodied within anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon acorresponding set of computer instructions that upon execution wouldcause an associated processor to perform the functionality describedherein. Thus, the various aspects described herein may be embodied in anumber of different forms, all of which are within the scope of thedisclosure, including claimed subject matter.

As used herein, the terms “user equipment” (UE) and “base station” arenot specific to or otherwise limited to any particular Radio AccessTechnology (RAT), unless otherwise noted. In general, such UEs may beany wireless communication device (e.g., a mobile phone, router, tabletcomputer, laptop computer, consumer asset tracking device, Internet ofThings (IoT) device, etc.) used by a user to communicate over a wirelesscommunications network. A UE may be mobile or may (e.g., at certaintimes) be stationary, and may communicate with a Radio Access Network(RAN). As used herein, the term “UE” may be referred to interchangeablyas an “access terminal” or “AT,” a “client device,” a “wireless device,”a “subscriber device,” a “subscriber terminal,” a “subscriber station,”a “user terminal” or UT, a “mobile terminal,” a “mobile station,” a“mobile device,” or variations thereof. Generally, UEs can communicatewith a core network via a RAN, and through the core network the UEs canbe connected with external networks such as the Internet and with otherUEs. Of course, other mechanisms of connecting to the core networkand/or the Internet are also possible for the UEs, such as over wiredaccess networks, WiFi networks (e.g., based on IEEE 802.11, etc.) and soon.

A base station may operate according to one of several RATs incommunication with UEs depending on the network in which it is deployed.Examples of a base station include an Access Point (AP), a Network Node,a NodeB, an evolved NodeB (eNB), or a general Node B (gNodeB, gNB). Inaddition, in some systems a base station may provide purely edge nodesignaling functions while in other systems it may provide additionalcontrol and/or network management functions.

UEs may be embodied by any of a number of types of devices including butnot limited to printed circuit (PC) cards, compact flash devices,external or internal modems, wireless or wireline phones, smartphones,tablets, consumer asset tracking devices, asset tags, and so on. Acommunication link through which UEs can send signals to a RAN is calledan uplink channel (e.g., a reverse traffic channel, a reverse controlchannel, an access channel, etc.). A communication link through whichthe RAN can send signals to UEs is called a downlink or forward linkchannel (e.g., a paging channel, a control channel, a broadcast channel,a forward traffic channel, etc.). As used herein the term trafficchannel (TCH) can refer to either an uplink/reverse or downlink/forwardtraffic channel.

As used herein, the term “cell” or “sector” may correspond to one of aplurality of cells of a base station, or to the base station itself,depending on the context. The term “cell” may refer to a logicalcommunication entity used for communication with a base station (forexample, over a carrier), and may be associated with an identifier fordistinguishing neighboring cells (for example, a physical cellidentifier (PCID), a virtual cell identifier (VCID)) operating via thesame or a different carrier. In some examples, a carrier may supportmultiple cells, and different cells may be configured according todifferent protocol types (for example, machine-type communication (MTC),narrowband Internet-of-Things (NB-IoT), enhanced mobile broadband(eMBB), or others) that may provide access for different types ofdevices. In some examples, the term “cell” may refer to a portion of ageographic coverage area (for example, a sector) over which the logicalentity operates.

Referring to FIG. 1 , an example of a communication system 100 includesa UE 105, a UE 106, a Radio Access Network (RAN), here a FifthGeneration (5G) Next Generation (NG) RAN (NG-RAN) 135, a 5G Core Network(5GC) 140, and a server 150. The UE 105 and/or the UE 106 may be, e.g.,an IoT device, a location tracker device, a cellular telephone, avehicle (e.g., a car, a truck, a bus, a boat, etc.), or other device. A5G network may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network; NG-RAN135 may be referred to as a 5G RAN or as an NR RAN; and 5GC 140 may bereferred to as an NG Core network (NGC). Standardization of an NG-RANand 5GC is ongoing in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).Accordingly, the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may conform to current orfuture standards for 5G support from 3GPP. The NG-RAN 135 may be anothertype of RAN, e.g., a 3G RAN, a 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) RAN, etc.The UE 106 may be configured and coupled similarly to the UE 105 to sendand/or receive signals to/from similar other entities in the system 100,but such signaling is not indicated in FIG. 1 for the sake of simplicityof the figure. Similarly, the discussion focuses on the UE 105 for thesake of simplicity. The communication system 100 may utilize informationfrom a constellation 185 of satellite vehicles (SVs) 190, 191, 192, 193for a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (e.g., a Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS)) like the Global Positioning System (GPS), theGlobal Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Galileo, or Beidou or someother local or regional SPS such as the Indian Regional NavigationalSatellite System (IRNSS), the European Geostationary Navigation OverlayService (EGNOS), or the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). Additionalcomponents of the communication system 100 are described below. Thecommunication system 100 may include additional or alternativecomponents.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the NG-RAN 135 includes NR nodeBs (gNBs) 110 a, 110b, and a next generation eNodeB (ng-eNB) 114, and the 5GC 140 includesan Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 115, a SessionManagement Function (SMF) 117, a Location Management Function (LMF) 120,and a Gateway Mobile Location Center (GMLC) 125. The gNBs 110 a, 110 band the ng-eNB 114 are communicatively coupled to each other, are eachconfigured to bi-directionally wirelessly communicate with the UE 105,and are each communicatively coupled to, and configured tobi-directionally communicate with, the AMF 115. The gNBs 110 a, 110 b,and the ng-eNB 114 may be referred to as base stations (BSs). The AMF115, the SMF 117, the LMF 120, and the GMLC 125 are communicativelycoupled to each other, and the GMLC is communicatively coupled to anexternal client 130. The SMF 117 may serve as an initial contact pointof a Service Control Function (SCF) (not shown) to create, control, anddelete media sessions. Base stations such as the gNBs 110 a, 110 band/or the ng-eNB 114 may be a macro cell (e.g., a high-power cellularbase station), or a small cell (e.g., a low-power cellular basestation), or an access point (e.g., a short-range base stationconfigured to communicate with short-range technology such as WiFi,WiFi-Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Bluetooth®-low energy (BLE), Zigbee,etc. One or more BSs, e.g., one or more of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/orthe ng-eNB 114 may be configured to communicate with the UE 105 viamultiple carriers. Each of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and the ng-eNB 114 mayprovide communication coverage for a respective geographic region, e.g.a cell. Each cell may be partitioned into multiple sectors as a functionof the base station antennas.

FIG. 1 provides a generalized illustration of various components, any orall of which may be utilized as appropriate, and each of which may beduplicated or omitted as necessary. Specifically, although one UE 105 isillustrated, many UEs (e.g., hundreds, thousands, millions, etc.) may beutilized in the communication system 100. Similarly, the communicationsystem 100 may include a larger (or smaller) number of SVs (i.e., moreor fewer than the four SVs 190-193 shown), gNBs 110 a, 110 b, ng-eNBs114, AMFs 115, external clients 130, and/or other components. Theillustrated connections that connect the various components in thecommunication system 100 include data and signaling connections whichmay include additional (intermediary) components, direct or indirectphysical and/or wireless connections, and/or additional networks.Furthermore, components may be rearranged, combined, separated,substituted, and/or omitted, depending on desired functionality.

While FIG. 1 illustrates a 5G-based network, similar networkimplementations and configurations may be used for other communicationtechnologies, such as 3G, Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc.Implementations described herein (be they for 5G technology and/or forone or more other communication technologies and/or protocols) may beused to transmit (or broadcast) directional synchronization signals,receive and measure directional signals at UEs (e.g., the UE 105) and/orprovide location assistance to the UE 105 (via the GMLC 125 or otherlocation server) and/or compute a location for the UE 105 at alocation-capable device such as the UE 105, the gNB 110 a, 110 b, or theLMF 120 based on measurement quantities received at the UE 105 for suchdirectionally-transmitted signals. The gateway mobile location center(GMLC) 125, the location management function (LMF) 120, the access andmobility management function (AMF) 115, the SMF 117, the ng-eNB (eNodeB)114 and the gNBs (gNodeBs) 110 a, 110 b are examples and may, in variousembodiments, be replaced by or include various other location serverfunctionality and/or base station functionality respectively.

The system 100 is capable of wireless communication in that componentsof the system 100 can communicate with one another (at least some timesusing wireless connections) directly or indirectly, e.g., via the gNBs110 a, 110 b, the ng-eNB 114, and/or the 5GC 140 (and/or one or moreother devices not shown, such as one or more other base transceiverstations). For indirect communications, the communications may bealtered during transmission from one entity to another, e.g., to alterheader information of data packets, to change format, etc. The UE 105may include multiple UEs and may be a mobile wireless communicationdevice, but may communicate wirelessly and via wired connections. The UE105 may be any of a variety of devices, e.g., a smartphone, a tabletcomputer, a vehicle-based device, etc., but these are examples as the UE105 is not required to be any of these configurations, and otherconfigurations of UEs may be used. Other UEs may include wearabledevices (e.g., smart watches, smart jewelry, smart glasses or headsets,etc.). Still other UEs may be used, whether currently existing ordeveloped in the future. Further, other wireless devices (whether mobileor not) may be implemented within the system 100 and may communicatewith each other and/or with the UE 105, the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, theng-eNB 114, the 5GC 140, and/or the external client 130. For example,such other devices may include internet of thing (IoT) devices, medicaldevices, home entertainment and/or automation devices, etc. The 5GC 140may communicate with the external client 130 (e.g., a computer system),e.g., to allow the external client 130 to request and/or receivelocation information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC 125).

The UE 105 or other devices may be configured to communicate in variousnetworks and/or for various purposes and/or using various technologies(e.g., 5G, Wi-Fi communication, multiple frequencies of Wi-Ficommunication, satellite positioning, one or more types ofcommunications (e.g., GSM (Global System for Mobiles), CDMA (CodeDivision Multiple Access), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), V2X(Vehicle-to-Everything, e.g., V2P (Vehicle-to-Pedestrian), V2I(Vehicle-to-infrastructure), V2V (Vehicle-to-Vehicle), etc.), IEEE802.11p, etc.). V2X communications may be cellular (Cellular-V2X(C-V2X)) and/or WiFi (e.g., DSRC (Dedicated Short-Range Connection)).The system 100 may support operation on multiple carriers (waveformsignals of different frequencies). Multi-carrier transmitters cantransmit modulated signals simultaneously on the multiple carriers. Eachmodulated signal may be a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) signal, aTime Division Multiple Access (TDMA) signal, an Orthogonal FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (OFDMA) signal, a Single-Carrier FrequencyDivision Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) signal, etc. Each modulated signalmay be sent on a different carrier and may carry pilot, overheadinformation, data, etc. The UEs 105, 106 may communicate with each otherthrough UE-to-UE sidelink (SL) communications by transmitting over oneor more sidelink channels such as a physical sidelink synchronizationchannel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH), or aphysical sidelink control channel (PSCCH).

The UE 105 may comprise and/or may be referred to as a device, a mobiledevice, a wireless device, a mobile terminal, a terminal, a mobilestation (MS), a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Enabled Terminal(SET), or by some other name. Moreover, the UE 105 may correspond to acellphone, smartphone, laptop, tablet, PDA, consumer asset trackingdevice, navigation device, Internet of Things (IoT) device, healthmonitors, security systems, smart city sensors, smart meters, wearabletrackers, or some other portable or moveable device. Typically, thoughnot necessarily, the UE 105 may support wireless communication using oneor more Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as Global System forMobile communication (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA),Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), LTE, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), IEEE 802.11WiFi (also referred to as Wi-Fi), Bluetooth® (BT), WorldwideInteroperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), 5G new radio (NR) (e.g.,using the NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140), etc. The UE 105 may supportwireless communication using a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) whichmay connect to other networks (e.g., the Internet) using a DigitalSubscriber Line (DSL) or packet cable, for example. The use of one ormore of these RATs may allow the UE 105 to communicate with the externalclient 130 (e.g., via elements of the 5GC 140 not shown in FIG. 1 , orpossibly via the GMLC 125) and/or allow the external client 130 toreceive location information regarding the UE 105 (e.g., via the GMLC125).

The UE 105 may include a single entity or may include multiple entitiessuch as in a personal area network where a user may employ audio, videoand/or data I/O (input/output) devices and/or body sensors and aseparate wireline or wireless modem. An estimate of a location of the UE105 may be referred to as a location, location estimate, location fix,fix, position, position estimate, or position fix, and may begeographic, thus providing location coordinates for the UE 105 (e.g.,latitude and longitude) which may or may not include an altitudecomponent (e.g., height above sea level, height above or depth belowground level, floor level, or basement level). Alternatively, a locationof the UE 105 may be expressed as a civic location (e.g., as a postaladdress or the designation of some point or small area in a buildingsuch as a particular room or floor). A location of the UE 105 may beexpressed as an area or volume (defined either geographically or incivic form) within which the UE 105 is expected to be located with someprobability or confidence level (e.g., 67%, 95%, etc.). A location ofthe UE 105 may be expressed as a relative location comprising, forexample, a distance and direction from a known location. The relativelocation may be expressed as relative coordinates (e.g., X, Y (and Z)coordinates) defined relative to some origin at a known location whichmay be defined, e.g., geographically, in civic terms, or by reference toa point, area, or volume, e.g., indicated on a map, floor plan, orbuilding plan. In the description contained herein, the use of the termlocation may comprise any of these variants unless indicated otherwise.When computing the location of a UE, it is common to solve for local x,y, and possibly z coordinates and then, if desired, convert the localcoordinates into absolute coordinates (e.g., for latitude, longitude,and altitude above or below mean sea level).

The UE 105 may be configured to communicate with other entities usingone or more of a variety of technologies. The UE 105 may be configuredto connect indirectly to one or more communication networks via one ormore device-to-device (D2D) peer-to-peer (P2P) links. The D2D P2P linksmay be supported with any appropriate D2D radio access technology (RAT),such as LTE Direct (LTE-D), WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, and so on.One or more of a group of UEs utilizing D2D communications may be withina geographic coverage area of a Transmission/Reception Point (TRP) suchas one or more of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, and/or the ng-eNB 114. OtherUEs in such a group may be outside such geographic coverage areas, ormay be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from a base station.Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications may utilize aone-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit to other UEs inthe group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources for D2Dcommunications. In other cases, D2D communications may be carried outbetween UEs without the involvement of a TRP. One or more of a group ofUEs utilizing D2D communications may be within a geographic coveragearea of a TRP. Other UEs in such a group may be outside such geographiccoverage areas, or be otherwise unable to receive transmissions from abase station. Groups of UEs communicating via D2D communications mayutilize a one-to-many (1:M) system in which each UE may transmit toother UEs in the group. A TRP may facilitate scheduling of resources forD2D communications. In other cases, D2D communications may be carriedout between UEs without the involvement of a TRP.

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 include NR NodeBs, referred to as the gNBs 110 a and 110 b. Pairs of the gNBs 110 a,110 b in the NG-RAN 135 may be connected to one another via one or moreother gNBs. Access to the 5G network is provided to the UE 105 viawireless communication between the UE 105 and one or more of the gNBs110 a, 110 b, which may provide wireless communications access to the5GC 140 on behalf of the UE 105 using 5G. In FIG. 1 , the serving gNBfor the UE 105 is assumed to be the gNB 110 a, although another gNB(e.g. the gNB 110 b) may act as a serving gNB if the UE 105 moves toanother location or may act as a secondary gNB to provide additionalthroughput and bandwidth to the UE 105.

Base stations (BSs) in the NG-RAN 135 shown in FIG. 1 may include theng-eNB 114, also referred to as a next generation evolved Node B. Theng-eNB 114 may be connected to one or more of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b inthe NG-RAN 135, possibly via one or more other gNBs and/or one or moreother ng-eNBs. The ng-eNB 114 may provide LTE wireless access and/orevolved LTE (eLTE) wireless access to the UE 105. One or more of thegNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114 may be configured to function aspositioning-only beacons which may transmit signals to assist withdetermining the position of the UE 105 but may not receive signals fromthe UE 105 or from other UEs.

The gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114 may each comprise one ormore TRPs. For example, each sector within a cell of a BS may comprise aTRP, although multiple TRPs may share one or more components (e.g.,share a processor but have separate antennas). The system 100 mayinclude macro TRPs exclusively or the system 100 may have TRPs ofdifferent types, e.g., macro, pico, and/or femto TRPs, etc. A macro TRPmay cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometersin radius) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals with servicesubscription. A pico TRP may cover a relatively small geographic area(e.g., a pico cell) and may allow unrestricted access by terminals withservice subscription. A femto or home TRP may cover a relatively smallgeographic area (e.g., a femto cell) and may allow restricted access byterminals having association with the femto cell (e.g., terminals forusers in a home).

Each of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114 may include a radiounit (RU), a distributed unit (DU), and a central unit (CU). Forexample, the gNB 110 a includes an RU 111, a DU 112, and a CU 113. TheRU 111, DU 112, and CU 113 divide functionality of the gNB 110 a. Whilethe gNB 110 a is shown with a single RU, a single DU, and a single CU, agNB may include one or more RUs, one or more DUs, and/or one or moreCUs. An interface between the CU 113 and the DU 112 is referred to as anF1 interface. The RU 111 is configured to perform digital front end(DFE) functions (e.g., analog-to-digital conversion, filtering, poweramplification, transmission/reception) and digital beamforming, andincludes a portion of the physical (PHY) layer. The RU 111 may performthe DFE using massive multiple input/multiple output (MIMO) and may beintegrated with one or more antennas of the gNB 110 a. The DU 112 hoststhe Radio Link Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and physicallayers of the gNB 110 a. One DU can support one or more cells, and eachcell is supported by a single DU. The operation of the DU 112 iscontrolled by the CU 113. The CU 113 is configured to perform functionsfor transferring user data, mobility control, radio access networksharing, positioning, session management, etc. although some functionsare allocated exclusively to the DU 112. The CU 113 hosts the RadioResource Control (RRC), Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP), andPacket Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) protocols of the gNB 110 a. TheUE 105 may communicate with the CU 113 via RRC, SDAP, and PDCP layers,with the DU 112 via the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers, and with the RU 111via the PHY layer.

As noted, while FIG. 1 depicts nodes configured to communicate accordingto 5G communication protocols, nodes configured to communicate accordingto other communication protocols, such as, for example, an LTE protocolor IEEE 802.11x protocol, may be used. For example, in an Evolved PacketSystem (EPS) providing LTE wireless access to the UE 105, a RAN maycomprise an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) which may comprise basestations comprising evolved Node Bs (eNBs). A core network for EPS maycomprise an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). An EPS may comprise an E-UTRANplus EPC, where the E-UTRAN corresponds to the NG-RAN 135 and the EPCcorresponds to the 5GC 140 in FIG. 1 .

The gNBs 110 a, 110 b and the ng-eNB 114 may communicate with the AMF115, which, for positioning functionality, communicates with the LMF120. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105, including cellchange and handover and may participate in supporting a signalingconnection to the UE 105 and possibly data and voice bearers for the UE105. The LMF 120 may communicate directly with the UE 105, e.g., throughwireless communications, or directly with the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/orthe ng-eNB 114. The LMF 120 may support positioning of the UE 105 whenthe UE 105 accesses the NG-RAN 135 and may support positionprocedures/methods such as Assisted GNSS (A-GNSS), Observed TimeDifference of Arrival (OTDOA) (e.g., Downlink (DL) OTDOA or Uplink (UL)OTDOA), Round Trip Time (RTT), Multi-Cell RTT, Real Time Kinematic(RTK), Precise Point Positioning (PPP), Differential GNSS (DGNSS),Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID), angle of arrival (AoA), angle of departure(AoD), and/or other position methods. The LMF 120 may process locationservices requests for the UE 105, e.g., received from the AMF 115 orfrom the GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be connected to the AMF 115 and/or tothe GMLC 125. The LMF 120 may be referred to by other names such as aLocation Manager (LM), Location Function (LF), commercial LMF (CLMF), orvalue added LMF (VLMF). A node/system that implements the LMF 120 mayadditionally or alternatively implement other types of location-supportmodules, such as an Enhanced Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC) ora Secure User Plane Location (SUPL) Location Platform (SLP). At leastpart of the positioning functionality (including derivation of thelocation of the UE 105) may be performed at the UE 105 (e.g., usingsignal measurements obtained by the UE 105 for signals transmitted bywireless nodes such as the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114,and/or assistance data provided to the UE 105, e.g. by the LMF 120). TheAMF 115 may serve as a control node that processes signaling between theUE 105 and the 5GC 140, and may provide QoS (Quality of Service) flowand session management. The AMF 115 may support mobility of the UE 105including cell change and handover and may participate in supportingsignaling connection to the UE 105.

The server 150, e.g., a cloud server, is configured to obtain andprovide location estimates of the UE 105 to the external client 130. Theserver 150 may, for example, be configured to run a microservice/servicethat obtains the location estimate of the UE 105. The server 150 may,for example, pull the location estimate from (e.g., by sending alocation request to) the UE 105, one or more of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b(e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU 113) and/or the ng-eNB114, and/or the LMF 120. As another example, the UE 105, one or more ofthe gNBs 110 a, 110 b (e.g., via the RU 111, the DU 112, and the CU113), and/or the LMF 120 may push the location estimate of the UE 105 tothe server 150.

The GMLC 125 may support a location request for the UE 105 received fromthe external client 130 via the server 150 and may forward such alocation request to the AMF 115 for forwarding by the AMF 15 to the LMF120 or may forward the location request directly to the LMF 120. Alocation response from the LMF 120 (e.g., containing a location estimatefor the UE 105) may be returned to the GMLC 125 either directly or viathe AMF 115 and the GMLC 125 may then return the location response(e.g., containing the location estimate) to the external client 130 viathe server 150. The GMLC 125 is shown connected to both the AMF 115 andLMF 120, though may not be connected to the AMF 115 or the LMF 120 insome implementations.

As further illustrated in FIG. 1 , the LMF 120 may communicate with thegNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114 using a New Radio PositionProtocol A (which may be referred to as NPPa or NRPPa), which may bedefined in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.455. NRPPa may be thesame as, similar to, or an extension of the LTE Positioning Protocol A(LPPa) defined in 3GPP TS 36.455, with NRPPa messages being transferredbetween the gNB 110 a (or the gNB 110 b) and the LMF 120, and/or betweenthe ng-eNB 114 and the LMF 120, via the AMF 115. As further illustratedin FIG. 1 , the LMF 120 and the UE 105 may communicate using an LTEPositioning Protocol (LPP), which may be defined in 3GPP TS 36.355. TheLMF 120 and the UE 105 may also or instead communicate using a New RadioPositioning Protocol (which may be referred to as NPP or NRPP), whichmay be the same as, similar to, or an extension of LPP. Here, LPP and/orNPP messages may be transferred between the UE 105 and the LMF 120 viathe AMF 115 and the serving gNB 110 a, 110 b or the serving ng-eNB 114for the UE 105. For example, LPP and/or NPP messages may be transferredbetween the LMF 120 and the AMF 115 using a 5G Location ServicesApplication Protocol (LCS AP) and may be transferred between the AMF 115and the UE 105 using a 5G Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol. The LPPand/or NPP protocol may be used to support positioning of the UE 105using UE-assisted and/or UE-based position methods such as A-GNSS, RTK,OTDOA and/or E-CID. The NRPPa protocol may be used to supportpositioning of the UE 105 using network-based position methods such asE-CID (e.g., when used with measurements obtained by the gNB 110 a, 110b or the ng-eNB 114) and/or may be used by the LMF 120 to obtainlocation related information from the gNBs 110 a, 110 b and/or theng-eNB 114, such as parameters defining directional SS or PRStransmissions from the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, and/or the ng-eNB 114. The LMF120 may be co-located or integrated with a gNB or a TRP, or may bedisposed remote from the gNB and/or the TRP and configured tocommunicate directly or indirectly with the gNB and/or the TRP.

With a UE-assisted position method, the UE 105 may obtain locationmeasurements and send the measurements to a location server (e.g., theLMF 120) for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105. Forexample, the location measurements may include one or more of a ReceivedSignal Strength Indication (RSSI), Round Trip signal propagation Time(RTT), Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), Reference SignalReceived Power (RSRP) and/or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)for the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, the ng-eNB 114, and/or a WLAN AP. Thelocation measurements may also or instead include measurements of GNSSpseudorange, code phase, and/or carrier phase for the SVs 190-193.

With a UE-based position method, the UE 105 may obtain locationmeasurements (e.g., which may be the same as or similar to locationmeasurements for a UE-assisted position method) and may compute alocation of the UE 105 (e.g., with the help of assistance data receivedfrom a location server such as the LMF 120 or broadcast by the gNBs 110a, 110 b, the ng-eNB 114, or other base stations or APs).

With a network-based position method, one or more base stations (e.g.,the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, and/or the ng-eNB 114) or APs may obtain locationmeasurements (e.g., measurements of RSSI, RTT, RSRP, RSRQ or Time ofArrival (ToA) for signals transmitted by the UE 105) and/or may receivemeasurements obtained by the UE 105. The one or more base stations orAPs may send the measurements to a location server (e.g., the LMF 120)for computation of a location estimate for the UE 105.

Information provided by the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, and/or the ng-eNB 114 tothe LMF 120 using NRPPa may include timing and configuration informationfor directional SS or PRS transmissions and location coordinates. TheLMF 120 may provide some or all of this information to the UE 105 asassistance data in an LPP and/or NPP message via the NG-RAN 135 and the5GC 140.

An LPP or NPP message sent from the LMF 120 to the UE 105 may instructthe UE 105 to do any of a variety of things depending on desiredfunctionality. For example, the LPP or NPP message could contain aninstruction for the UE 105 to obtain measurements for GNSS (or A-GNSS),WLAN, E-CID, and/or OTDOA (or some other position method). In the caseof E-CID, the LPP or NPP message may instruct the UE 105 to obtain oneor more measurement quantities (e.g., beam ID, beam width, mean angle,RSRP, RSRQ measurements) of directional signals transmitted withinparticular cells supported by one or more of the gNBs 110 a, 110 b,and/or the ng-eNB 114 (or supported by some other type of base stationsuch as an eNB or WiFi AP). The UE 105 may send the measurementquantities back to the LMF 120 in an LPP or NPP message (e.g., inside a5G NAS message) via the serving gNB 110 a (or the serving ng-eNB 114)and the AMF 115.

As noted, while the communication system 100 is described in relation to5G technology, the communication system 100 may be implemented tosupport other communication technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, etc.,that are used for supporting and interacting with mobile devices such asthe UE 105 (e.g., to implement voice, data, positioning, and otherfunctionalities). In some such embodiments, the 5GC 140 may beconfigured to control different air interfaces. For example, the 5GC 140may be connected to a WLAN using a Non-3GPP InterWorking Function(N3IWF, not shown FIG. 1 ) in the 5GC 140. For example, the WLAN maysupport IEEE 802.11 WiFi access for the UE 105 and may comprise one ormore WiFi APs. Here, the N3IWF may connect to the WLAN and to otherelements in the 5GC 140 such as the AMF 115. In some embodiments, boththe NG-RAN 135 and the 5GC 140 may be replaced by one or more other RANsand one or more other core networks. For example, in an EPS, the NG-RAN135 may be replaced by an E-UTRAN containing eNBs and the 5GC 140 may bereplaced by an EPC containing a Mobility Management Entity (MME) inplace of the AMF 115, an E-SMLC in place of the LMF 120, and a GMLC thatmay be similar to the GMLC 125. In such an EPS, the E-SMLC may use LPPain place of NRPPa to send and receive location information to and fromthe eNBs in the E-UTRAN and may use LPP to support positioning of the UE105. In these other embodiments, positioning of the UE 105 usingdirectional PRSs may be supported in an analogous manner to thatdescribed herein for a 5G network with the difference that functions andprocedures described herein for the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, the ng-eNB 114,the AMF 115, and the LMF 120 may, in some cases, apply instead to othernetwork elements such eNBs, WiFi APs, an MME, and an E-SMLC.

As noted, in some embodiments, positioning functionality may beimplemented, at least in part, using the directional SS or PRS beams,sent by base stations (such as the gNBs 110 a, 110 b, and/or the ng-eNB114) that are within range of the UE whose position is to be determined(e.g., the UE 105 of FIG. 1 ). The UE may, in some instances, use thedirectional SS or PRS beams from a plurality of base stations (such asthe gNBs 110 a, 110 b, the ng-eNB 114, etc.) to compute the UE'sposition.

Referring also to FIG. 2 , a UE 200 is an example of one of the UEs 105,106 and comprises a computing platform including a processor 210, memory211 including software (SW) 212, one or more sensors 213, a transceiverinterface 214 for a transceiver 215 (that includes a wirelesstransceiver 240 and a wired transceiver 250), a user interface 216, aSatellite Positioning System (SPS) receiver 217, a camera 218, and aposition device (PD) 219. The processor 210, the memory 211, thesensor(s) 213, the transceiver interface 214, the user interface 216,the SPS receiver 217, the camera 218, and the position device 219 may becommunicatively coupled to each other by a bus 220 (which may beconfigured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One ormore of the shown apparatus (e.g., the camera 218, the position device219, and/or one or more of the sensor(s) 213, etc.) may be omitted fromthe UE 200. The processor 210 may include one or more intelligenthardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), amicrocontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.The processor 210 may comprise multiple processors including ageneral-purpose/application processor 230, a Digital Signal Processor(DSP) 231, a modem processor 232, a video processor 233, and/or a sensorprocessor 234. One or more of the processors 230-234 may comprisemultiple devices (e.g., multiple processors). For example, the sensorprocessor 234 may comprise, e.g., processors for RF (radio frequency)sensing (with one or more (cellular) wireless signals transmitted andreflection(s) used to identify, map, and/or track an object), and/orultrasound, etc. The modem processor 232 may support dual SIM/dualconnectivity (or even more SIMs). For example, a SIM (SubscriberIdentity Module or Subscriber Identification Module) may be used by anOriginal Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), and another SIM may be used by anend user of the UE 200 for connectivity. The memory 211 is anon-transitory storage medium that may include random access memory(RAM), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM), etc.The memory 211 stores the software 212 which may be processor-readable,processor-executable software code containing instructions that areconfigured to, when executed, cause the processor 210 to perform variousfunctions described herein. Alternatively, the software 212 may not bedirectly executable by the processor 210 but may be configured to causethe processor 210, e.g., when compiled and executed, to perform thefunctions. The description may refer to the processor 210 performing afunction, but this includes other implementations such as where theprocessor 210 executes software and/or firmware. The description mayrefer to the processor 210 performing a function as shorthand for one ormore of the processors 230-234 performing the function. The descriptionmay refer to the UE 200 performing a function as shorthand for one ormore appropriate components of the UE 200 performing the function. Theprocessor 210 may include a memory with stored instructions in additionto and/or instead of the memory 211. Functionality of the processor 210is discussed more fully below.

The configuration of the UE 200 shown in FIG. 2 is an example and notlimiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and otherconfigurations may be used. For example, an example configuration of theUE includes one or more of the processors 230-234 of the processor 210,the memory 211, and the wireless transceiver 240. Other exampleconfigurations include one or more of the processors 230-234 of theprocessor 210, the memory 211, a wireless transceiver, and one or moreof the sensor(s) 213, the user interface 216, the SPS receiver 217, thecamera 218, the PD 219, and/or a wired transceiver.

The UE 200 may comprise the modem processor 232 that may be capable ofperforming baseband processing of signals received and down-converted bythe transceiver 215 and/or the SPS receiver 217. The modem processor 232may perform baseband processing of signals to be upconverted fortransmission by the transceiver 215. Also or alternatively, basebandprocessing may be performed by the processor 230 and/or the DSP 231.Other configurations, however, may be used to perform basebandprocessing.

The UE 200 may include the sensor(s) 213 that may include, for example,one or more of various types of sensors such as one or more inertialsensors, one or more magnetometers, one or more environment sensors, oneor more optical sensors, one or more weight sensors, and/or one or moreradio frequency (RF) sensors, etc. An inertial measurement unit (IMU)may comprise, for example, one or more accelerometers (e.g.,collectively responding to acceleration of the UE 200 in threedimensions) and/or one or more gyroscopes (e.g., three-dimensionalgyroscope(s)). The sensor(s) 213 may include one or more magnetometers(e.g., three-dimensional magnetometer(s)) to determine orientation(e.g., relative to magnetic north and/or true north) that may be usedfor any of a variety of purposes, e.g., to support one or more compassapplications. The environment sensor(s) may comprise, for example, oneor more temperature sensors, one or more barometric pressure sensors,one or more ambient light sensors, one or more camera imagers, and/orone or more microphones, etc. The sensor(s) 213 may generate analogand/or digital signals indications of which may be stored in the memory211 and processed by the DSP 231 and/or the processor 230 in support ofone or more applications such as, for example, applications directed topositioning and/or navigation operations.

The sensor(s) 213 may be used in relative location measurements,relative location determination, motion determination, etc. Informationdetected by the sensor(s) 213 may be used for motion detection, relativedisplacement, dead reckoning, sensor-based location determination,and/or sensor-assisted location determination. The sensor(s) 213 may beuseful to determine whether the UE 200 is fixed (stationary) or mobileand/or whether to report certain useful information to the LMF 120regarding the mobility of the UE 200. For example, based on theinformation obtained/measured by the sensor(s) 213, the UE 200 maynotify/report to the LMF 120 that the UE 200 has detected movements orthat the UE 200 has moved, and report the relative displacement/distance(e.g., via dead reckoning, or sensor-based location determination, orsensor-assisted location determination enabled by the sensor(s) 213). Inanother example, for relative positioning information, the sensors/IMUcan be used to determine the angle and/or orientation of the otherdevice with respect to the UE 200, etc.

The IMU may be configured to provide measurements about a direction ofmotion and/or a speed of motion of the UE 200, which may be used inrelative location determination. For example, one or more accelerometersand/or one or more gyroscopes of the IMU may detect, respectively, alinear acceleration and a speed of rotation of the UE 200. The linearacceleration and speed of rotation measurements of the UE 200 may beintegrated over time to determine an instantaneous direction of motionas well as a displacement of the UE 200. The instantaneous direction ofmotion and the displacement may be integrated to track a location of theUE 200. For example, a reference location of the UE 200 may bedetermined, e.g., using the SPS receiver 217 (and/or by some othermeans) for a moment in time and measurements from the accelerometer(s)and gyroscope(s) taken after this moment in time may be used in deadreckoning to determine present location of the UE 200 based on movement(direction and distance) of the UE 200 relative to the referencelocation.

The magnetometer(s) may determine magnetic field strengths in differentdirections which may be used to determine orientation of the UE 200. Forexample, the orientation may be used to provide a digital compass forthe UE 200. The magnetometer(s) may include a two-dimensionalmagnetometer configured to detect and provide indications of magneticfield strength in two orthogonal dimensions. The magnetometer(s) mayinclude a three-dimensional magnetometer configured to detect andprovide indications of magnetic field strength in three orthogonaldimensions. The magnetometer(s) may provide means for sensing a magneticfield and providing indications of the magnetic field, e.g., to theprocessor 210.

The transceiver 215 may include a wireless transceiver 240 and a wiredtransceiver 250 configured to communicate with other devices throughwireless connections and wired connections, respectively. For example,the wireless transceiver 240 may include a wireless transmitter 242 anda wireless receiver 244 coupled to an antenna 246 for transmitting(e.g., on one or more uplink channels and/or one or more sidelinkchannels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlink channelsand/or one or more sidelink channels) wireless signals 248 andtransducing signals from the wireless signals 248 to wired (e.g.,electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electricaland/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 248. Thus, the wirelesstransmitter 242 may include multiple transmitters that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components, and/or the wirelessreceiver 244 may include multiple receivers that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver240 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with TRPs and/or oneor more other devices) according to a variety of radio accesstechnologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR), GSM (Global System forMobiles), UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), AMPS(Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access),WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-Term Evolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D),3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11 (including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFiDirect (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbee etc. New Radio may use mm-wavefrequencies and/or sub-6 GHz frequencies. The wired transceiver 250 mayinclude a wired transmitter 252 and a wired receiver 254 configured forwired communication, e.g., a network interface that may be utilized tocommunicate with the NG-RAN 135 to send communications to, and receivecommunications from, the NG-RAN 135. The wired transmitter 252 mayinclude multiple transmitters that may be discrete components orcombined/integrated components, and/or the wired receiver 254 mayinclude multiple receivers that may be discrete components orcombined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 250 may beconfigured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electricalcommunication. The transceiver 215 may be communicatively coupled to thetransceiver interface 214, e.g., by optical and/or electricalconnection. The transceiver interface 214 may be at least partiallyintegrated with the transceiver 215. The wireless transmitter 242, thewireless receiver 244, and/or the antenna 246 may include multipletransmitters, multiple receivers, and/or multiple antennas,respectively, for sending and/or receiving, respectively, appropriatesignals.

The user interface 216 may comprise one or more of several devices suchas, for example, a speaker, microphone, display device, vibrationdevice, keyboard, touch screen, etc. The user interface 216 may includemore than one of any of these devices. The user interface 216 may beconfigured to enable a user to interact with one or more applicationshosted by the UE 200. For example, the user interface 216 may storeindications of analog and/or digital signals in the memory 211 to beprocessed by DSP 231 and/or the general-purpose/application processor230 in response to action from a user. Similarly, applications hosted onthe UE 200 may store indications of analog and/or digital signals in thememory 211 to present an output signal to a user. The user interface 216may include an audio input/output (I/O) device comprising, for example,a speaker, a microphone, digital-to-analog circuitry, analog-to-digitalcircuitry, an amplifier and/or gain control circuitry (including morethan one of any of these devices). Other configurations of an audio I/Odevice may be used. Also or alternatively, the user interface 216 maycomprise one or more touch sensors responsive to touching and/orpressure, e.g., on a keyboard and/or touch screen of the user interface216.

The SPS receiver 217 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver)may be capable of receiving and acquiring SPS signals 260 via an SPSantenna 262. The SPS antenna 262 is configured to transduce the SPSsignals 260 from wireless signals to wired signals, e.g., electrical oroptical signals, and may be integrated with the antenna 246. The SPSreceiver 217 may be configured to process, in whole or in part, theacquired SPS signals 260 for estimating a location of the UE 200. Forexample, the SPS receiver 217 may be configured to determine location ofthe UE 200 by trilateration using the SPS signals 260. Thegeneral-purpose/application processor 230, the memory 211, the DSP 231and/or one or more specialized processors (not shown) may be utilized toprocess acquired SPS signals, in whole or in part, and/or to calculatean estimated location of the UE 200, in conjunction with the SPSreceiver 217. The memory 211 may store indications (e.g., measurements)of the SPS signals 260 and/or other signals (e.g., signals acquired fromthe wireless transceiver 240) for use in performing positioningoperations. The general-purpose/application processor 230, the DSP 231,and/or one or more specialized processors, and/or the memory 211 mayprovide or support a location engine for use in processing measurementsto estimate a location of the UE 200.

The UE 200 may include the camera 218 for capturing still or movingimagery. The camera 218 may comprise, for example, an imaging sensor(e.g., a charge coupled device or a CMOS imager), a lens,analog-to-digital circuitry, frame buffers, etc. Additional processing,conditioning, encoding, and/or compression of signals representingcaptured images may be performed by the general-purpose/applicationprocessor 230 and/or the DSP 231. Also or alternatively, the videoprocessor 233 may perform conditioning, encoding, compression, and/ormanipulation of signals representing captured images. The videoprocessor 233 may decode/decompress stored image data for presentationon a display device (not shown), e.g., of the user interface 216.

The position device (PD) 219 may be configured to determine a positionof the UE 200, motion of the UE 200, and/or relative position of the UE200, and/or time. For example, the PD 219 may communicate with, and/orinclude some or all of, the SPS receiver 217. The PD 219 may work inconjunction with the processor 210 and the memory 211 as appropriate toperform at least a portion of one or more positioning methods, althoughthe description herein may refer to the PD 219 being configured toperform, or performing, in accordance with the positioning method(s).The PD 219 may also or alternatively be configured to determine locationof the UE 200 using terrestrial-based signals (e.g., at least some ofthe wireless signals 248) for trilateration, for assistance withobtaining and using the SPS signals 260, or both. The PD 219 may beconfigured to determine location of the UE 200 based on a cell of aserving base station (e.g., a cell center) and/or another technique suchas E-CID. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or more images fromthe camera 218 and image recognition combined with known locations oflandmarks (e.g., natural landmarks such as mountains and/or artificiallandmarks such as buildings, bridges, streets, etc.) to determinelocation of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured to use one or moreother techniques (e.g., relying on the UE's self-reported location(e.g., part of the UE's position beacon)) for determining the locationof the UE 200, and may use a combination of techniques (e.g., SPS andterrestrial positioning signals) to determine the location of the UE200. The PD 219 may include one or more of the sensors 213 (e.g.,gyroscope(s), accelerometer(s), magnetometer(s), etc.) that may senseorientation and/or motion of the UE 200 and provide indications thereofthat the processor 210 (e.g., the processor 230 and/or the DSP 231) maybe configured to use to determine motion (e.g., a velocity vector and/oran acceleration vector) of the UE 200. The PD 219 may be configured toprovide indications of uncertainty and/or error in the determinedposition and/or motion. Functionality of the PD 219 may be provided in avariety of manners and/or configurations, e.g., by thegeneral-purpose/application processor 230, the transceiver 215, the SPSreceiver 217, and/or another component of the UE 200, and may beprovided by hardware, software, firmware, or various combinationsthereof.

Referring also to FIG. 3 , an example of a TRP 300 of the gNBs 110 a,110 b and/or the ng-eNB 114 comprises a computing platform including aprocessor 310, memory 311 including software (SW) 312, and a transceiver315. The processor 310, the memory 311, and the transceiver 315 may becommunicatively coupled to each other by a bus 320 (which may beconfigured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One ormore of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omittedfrom the TRP 300. The processor 310 may include one or more intelligenthardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), amicrocontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.The processor 310 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including ageneral-purpose/application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a videoprocessor, and/or a sensor processor as shown in FIG. 2 ). The memory311 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random accessmemory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM),etc. The memory 311 stores the software 312 which may beprocessor-readable, processor-executable software code containinginstructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor310 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, thesoftware 312 may not be directly executable by the processor 310 but maybe configured to cause the processor 310, e.g., when compiled andexecuted, to perform the functions.

The description may refer to the processor 310 performing a function,but this includes other implementations such as where the processor 310executes software and/or firmware. The description may refer to theprocessor 310 performing a function as shorthand for one or more of theprocessors contained in the processor 310 performing the function. Thedescription may refer to the TRP 300 performing a function as shorthandfor one or more appropriate components (e.g., the processor 310 and thememory 311) of the TRP 300 (and thus of one of the gNBs 110 a, 110 band/or the ng-eNB 114) performing the function. The processor 310 mayinclude a memory with stored instructions in addition to and/or insteadof the memory 311. Functionality of the processor 310 is discussed morefully below.

The transceiver 315 may include a wireless transceiver 340 and/or awired transceiver 350 configured to communicate with other devicesthrough wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. Forexample, the wireless transceiver 340 may include a wireless transmitter342 and a wireless receiver 344 coupled to one or more antennas 346 fortransmitting (e.g., on one or more uplink channels and/or one or moredownlink channels) and/or receiving (e.g., on one or more downlinkchannels and/or one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 348 andtransducing signals from the wireless signals 348 to wired (e.g.,electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electricaland/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 348. Thus, the wirelesstransmitter 342 may include multiple transmitters that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components, and/or the wirelessreceiver 344 may include multiple receivers that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver340 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, oneor more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to avariety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR),GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-TermEvolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11(including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbeeetc. The wired transceiver 350 may include a wired transmitter 352 and awired receiver 354 configured for wired communication, e.g., a networkinterface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 tosend communications to, and receive communications from, the LMF 120,for example, and/or one or more other network entities. The wiredtransmitter 352 may include multiple transmitters that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components, and/or the wired receiver354 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components orcombined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 350 may beconfigured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electricalcommunication.

The configuration of the TRP 300 shown in FIG. 3 is an example and notlimiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and otherconfigurations may be used. For example, the description hereindiscusses that the TRP 300 is configured to perform or performs severalfunctions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by theLMF 120 and/or the UE 200 (i.e., the LMF 120 and/or the UE 200 may beconfigured to perform one or more of these functions).

Referring also to FIG. 4 , a server 400, of which the LMF 120 is anexample, comprises a computing platform including a processor 410,memory 411 including software (SW) 412, and a transceiver 415. Theprocessor 410, the memory 411, and the transceiver 415 may becommunicatively coupled to each other by a bus 420 (which may beconfigured, e.g., for optical and/or electrical communication). One ormore of the shown apparatus (e.g., a wireless interface) may be omittedfrom the server 400. The processor 410 may include one or moreintelligent hardware devices, e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), amicrocontroller, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.The processor 410 may comprise multiple processors (e.g., including ageneral-purpose/application processor, a DSP, a modem processor, a videoprocessor, and/or a sensor processor as shown in FIG. 2 ). The memory411 is a non-transitory storage medium that may include random accessmemory (RAM)), flash memory, disc memory, and/or read-only memory (ROM),etc. The memory 411 stores the software 412 which may beprocessor-readable, processor-executable software code containinginstructions that are configured to, when executed, cause the processor410 to perform various functions described herein. Alternatively, thesoftware 412 may not be directly executable by the processor 410 but maybe configured to cause the processor 410, e.g., when compiled andexecuted, to perform the functions. The description may refer to theprocessor 410 performing a function, but this includes otherimplementations such as where the processor 410 executes software and/orfirmware. The description may refer to the processor 410 performing afunction as shorthand for one or more of the processors contained in theprocessor 410 performing the function. The description may refer to theserver 400 performing a function as shorthand for one or moreappropriate components of the server 400 performing the function. Theprocessor 410 may include a memory with stored instructions in additionto and/or instead of the memory 411. Functionality of the processor 410is discussed more fully below.

The transceiver 415 may include a wireless transceiver 440 and/or awired transceiver 450 configured to communicate with other devicesthrough wireless connections and wired connections, respectively. Forexample, the wireless transceiver 440 may include a wireless transmitter442 and a wireless receiver 444 coupled to one or more antennas 446 fortransmitting (e.g., on one or more downlink channels) and/or receiving(e.g., on one or more uplink channels) wireless signals 448 andtransducing signals from the wireless signals 448 to wired (e.g.,electrical and/or optical) signals and from wired (e.g., electricaland/or optical) signals to the wireless signals 448. Thus, the wirelesstransmitter 442 may include multiple transmitters that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components, and/or the wirelessreceiver 444 may include multiple receivers that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components. The wireless transceiver440 may be configured to communicate signals (e.g., with the UE 200, oneor more other UEs, and/or one or more other devices) according to avariety of radio access technologies (RATs) such as 5G New Radio (NR),GSM (Global System for Mobiles), UMTS (Universal MobileTelecommunications System), AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone System), CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access), WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), LTE (Long-TermEvolution), LTE Direct (LTE-D), 3GPP LTE-V2X (PC5), IEEE 802.11(including IEEE 802.11p), WiFi, WiFi Direct (WiFi-D), Bluetooth®, Zigbeeetc. The wired transceiver 450 may include a wired transmitter 452 and awired receiver 454 configured for wired communication, e.g., a networkinterface that may be utilized to communicate with the NG-RAN 135 tosend communications to, and receive communications from, the TRP 300,for example, and/or one or more other network entities. The wiredtransmitter 452 may include multiple transmitters that may be discretecomponents or combined/integrated components, and/or the wired receiver454 may include multiple receivers that may be discrete components orcombined/integrated components. The wired transceiver 450 may beconfigured, e.g., for optical communication and/or electricalcommunication.

The description herein may refer to the processor 410 performing afunction, but this includes other implementations such as where theprocessor 410 executes software (stored in the memory 411) and/orfirmware. The description herein may refer to the server 400 performinga function as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g.,the processor 410 and the memory 411) of the server 400 performing thefunction.

The configuration of the server 400 shown in FIG. 4 is an example andnot limiting of the disclosure, including the claims, and otherconfigurations may be used. For example, the wireless transceiver 440may be omitted. Also or alternatively, the description herein discussesthat the server 400 is configured to perform or performs severalfunctions, but one or more of these functions may be performed by theTRP 300 and/or the UE 200 (i.e., the TRP 300 and/or the UE 200 may beconfigured to perform one or more of these functions).

Positioning Techniques

For terrestrial positioning of a UE in cellular networks, techniquessuch as Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) and Observed TimeDifference Of Arrival (OTDOA) often operate in “UE-assisted” mode inwhich measurements of reference signals (e.g., PRS, CRS, etc.)transmitted by base stations are taken by the UE and then provided to alocation server. The location server then calculates the position of theUE based on the measurements and known locations of the base stations.Because these techniques use the location server to calculate theposition of the UE, rather than the UE itself, these positioningtechniques are not frequently used in applications such as car orcell-phone navigation, which instead typically rely on satellite-basedpositioning.

A UE may use a Satellite Positioning System (SPS) (a Global NavigationSatellite System (GNSS)) for high-accuracy positioning using precisepoint positioning (PPP) or real time kinematic (RTK) technology. Thesetechnologies use assistance data such as measurements from ground-basedstations. LTE Release 15 allows the data to be encrypted so that the UEssubscribed to the service exclusively can read the information. Suchassistance data varies with time. Thus, a UE subscribed to the servicemay not easily “break encryption” for other UEs by passing on the datato other UEs that have not paid for the subscription. The passing onwould need to be repeated every time the assistance data changes.

In UE-assisted positioning, the UE sends measurements (e.g., TDOA, Angleof Arrival (AoA), etc.) to the positioning server (e.g., LMF/eSMLC). Thepositioning server has the base station almanac (BSA) that containsmultiple ‘entries’ or ‘records’, one record per cell, where each recordcontains geographical cell location but also may include other data. Anidentifier of the ‘record’ among the multiple ‘records’ in the BSA maybe referenced. The BSA and the measurements from the UE may be used tocompute the position of the UE.

In conventional UE-based positioning, a UE computes its own position,thus avoiding sending measurements to the network (e.g., locationserver), which in turn improves latency and scalability. The UE usesrelevant BSA record information (e.g., locations of gNBs (more broadlybase stations)) from the network. The BSA information may be encrypted.But since the BSA information varies much less often than, for example,the PPP or RTK assistance data described earlier, it may be easier tomake the BSA information (compared to the PPP or RTK information)available to UEs that did not subscribe and pay for decryption keys.Transmissions of reference signals by the gNBs make BSA informationpotentially accessible to crowd-sourcing or war-driving, essentiallyenabling BSA information to be generated based on in-the-field and/orover-the-top observations.

Positioning techniques may be characterized and/or assessed based on oneor more criteria such as position determination accuracy and/or latency.Latency is a time elapsed between an event that triggers determinationof position-related data and the availability of that data at apositioning system interface, e.g., an interface of the LMF 120. Atinitialization of a positioning system, the latency for the availabilityof position-related data is called time to first fix (TTFF), and islarger than latencies after the TTFF. An inverse of a time elapsedbetween two consecutive position-related data availabilities is calledan update rate, i.e., the rate at which position-related data aregenerated after the first fix. Latency may depend on processingcapability, e.g., of the UE. For example, a UE may report a processingcapability of the UE as a duration of DL PRS symbols in units of time(e.g., milliseconds) that the UE can process every T amount of time(e.g., T ms) assuming 272 PRB (Physical Resource Block) allocation.Other examples of capabilities that may affect latency are a number ofTRPs from which the UE can process PRS, a number of PRS that the UE canprocess, and a bandwidth of the UE.

One or more of many different positioning techniques (also calledpositioning methods) may be used to determine position of an entity suchas one of the UEs 105, 106. For example, known position-determinationtechniques include RTT, multi-RTT, OTDOA (also called TDOA and includingUL-TDOA and DL-TDOA), Enhanced Cell Identification (E-CID), DL-AoD,UL-AoA, etc. RTT uses a time for a signal to travel from one entity toanother and back to determine a range between the two entities. Therange, plus a known location of a first one of the entities and an anglebetween the two entities (e.g., an azimuth angle) can be used todetermine a location of the second of the entities. In multi-RTT (alsocalled multi-cell RTT), multiple ranges from one entity (e.g., a UE) toother entities (e.g., TRPs) and known locations of the other entitiesmay be used to determine the location of the one entity. In TDOAtechniques, the difference in travel times between one entity and otherentities may be used to determine relative ranges from the otherentities and those, combined with known locations of the other entitiesmay be used to determine the location of the one entity. Angles ofarrival and/or departure may be used to help determine location of anentity. For example, an angle of arrival or an angle of departure of asignal combined with a range between devices (determined using signal,e.g., a travel time of the signal, a received power of the signal, etc.)and a known location of one of the devices may be used to determine alocation of the other device. The angle of arrival or departure may bean azimuth angle relative to a reference direction such as true north.The angle of arrival or departure may be a zenith angle relative todirectly upward from an entity (i.e., relative to radially outward froma center of Earth). E-CID uses the identity of a serving cell, thetiming advance (i.e., the difference between receive and transmit timesat the UE), estimated timing and power of detected neighbor cellsignals, and possibly angle of arrival (e.g., of a signal at the UE fromthe base station or vice versa) to determine location of the UE. InTDOA, the difference in arrival times at a receiving device of signalsfrom different sources along with known locations of the sources andknown offset of transmission times from the sources are used todetermine the location of the receiving device.

In a network-centric RTT estimation, the serving base station instructsthe UE to scan for/receive RTT measurement signals (e.g., PRS) onserving cells of two or more neighboring base stations (and typicallythe serving base station, as at least three base stations are needed).The one of more base stations transmit RTT measurement signals on lowreuse resources (e.g., resources used by the base station to transmitsystem information) allocated by the network (e.g., a location serversuch as the LMF 120). The UE records the arrival time (also referred toas a receive time, a reception time, a time of reception, or a time ofarrival (ToA)) of each RTT measurement signal relative to the UE'scurrent downlink timing (e.g., as derived by the UE from a DL signalreceived from its serving base station), and transmits a common orindividual RTT response message (e.g., SRS (sounding reference signal)for positioning, i.e., UL-PRS) to the one or more base stations (e.g.,when instructed by its serving base station) and may include the timedifference T_(Rx→Tx) (i.e., UE T_(Rx-Tx) or UE_(Rx-Tx)) between the ToAof the RTT measurement signal and the transmission time of the RTTresponse message in a payload of each RTT response message. The RTTresponse message would include a reference signal from which the basestation can deduce the ToA of the RTT response. By comparing thedifference T_(Tx→Rx) between the transmission time of the RTTmeasurement signal from the base station and the ToA of the RTT responseat the base station to the UE-reported time difference T_(Rx→Tx), thebase station can deduce the propagation time between the base stationand the UE, from which the base station can determine the distancebetween the UE and the base station by assuming the speed of lightduring this propagation time.

A UE-centric RTT estimation is similar to the network-based method,except that the UE transmits uplink RTT measurement signal(s) (e.g.,when instructed by a serving base station), which are received bymultiple base stations in the neighborhood of the UE. Each involved basestation responds with a downlink RTT response message, which may includethe time difference between the ToA of the RTT measurement signal at thebase station and the transmission time of the RTT response message fromthe base station in the RTT response message payload.

For both network-centric and UE-centric procedures, the side (network orUE) that performs the RTT calculation typically (though not always)transmits the first message(s) or signal(s) (e.g., RTT measurementsignal(s)), while the other side responds with one or more RTT responsemessage(s) or signal(s) that may include the difference between the ToAof the first message(s) or signal(s) and the transmission time of theRTT response message(s) or signal(s).

A multi-RTT technique may be used to determine position. For example, afirst entity (e.g., a UE) may send out one or more signals (e.g.,unicast, multicast, or broadcast from the base station) and multiplesecond entities (e.g., other TSPs such as base station(s) and/or UE(s))may receive a signal from the first entity and respond to this receivedsignal. The first entity receives the responses from the multiple secondentities. The first entity (or another entity such as an LMF) may usethe responses from the second entities to determine ranges to the secondentities and may use the multiple ranges and known locations of thesecond entities to determine the location of the first entity bytrilateration.

In some instances, additional information may be obtained in the form ofan angle of arrival (AoA) or angle of departure (AoD) that defines astraight-line direction (e.g., which may be in a horizontal plane or inthree dimensions) or possibly a range of directions (e.g., for the UEfrom the locations of base stations). The intersection of two directionscan provide another estimate of the location for the UE.

For positioning techniques using PRS (Positioning Reference Signal)signals (e.g., TDOA and RTT), PRS signals sent by multiple TRPs aremeasured and the arrival times of the signals, known transmission times,and known locations of the TRPs used to determine ranges from a UE tothe TRPs. For example, an RSTD (Reference Signal Time Difference) may bedetermined for PRS signals received from multiple TRPs and used in aTDOA technique to determine position (location) of the UE. A positioningreference signal may be referred to as a PRS or a PRS signal. The PRSsignals are typically sent using the same power and PRS signals with thesame signal characteristics (e.g., same frequency shift) may interferewith each other such that a PRS signal from a more distant TRP may beoverwhelmed by a PRS signal from a closer TRP such that the signal fromthe more distant TRP may not be detected. PRS muting may be used to helpreduce interference by muting some PRS signals (reducing the power ofthe PRS signal, e.g., to zero and thus not transmitting the PRS signal).In this way, a weaker (at the UE) PRS signal may be more easily detectedby the UE without a stronger PRS signal interfering with the weaker PRSsignal. The term RS, and variations thereof (e.g., PRS, SRS, CSI-RS((Channel State Information-Reference Signal)), may refer to onereference signal or more than one reference signal.

Positioning reference signals (PRS) include downlink PRS (DL PRS, oftenreferred to simply as PRS) and uplink PRS (UL PRS) (which may be calledSRS (Sounding Reference Signal) for positioning). A PRS may comprise aPN code (pseudorandom number code) or be generated using a PN code(e.g., by modulating a carrier signal with the PN code) such that asource of the PRS may serve as a pseudo-satellite (a pseudolite). The PNcode may be unique to the PRS source (at least within a specified areasuch that identical PRS from different PRS sources do not overlap). PRSmay comprise PRS resources and/or PRS resource sets of a frequencylayer. A DL PRS positioning frequency layer (or simply a frequencylayer) is a collection of DL PRS resource sets, from one or more TRPs,with PRS resource(s) that have common parameters configured byhigher-layer parameters DL-PRS-PositioningFrequencyLayer,DL-PRS-ResourceSet, and DL-PRS-Resource. Each frequency layer has a DLPRS subcarrier spacing (SCS) for the DL PRS resource sets and the DL PRSresources in the frequency layer. Each frequency layer has a DL PRScyclic prefix (CP) for the DL PRS resource sets and the DL PRS resourcesin the frequency layer. In 5G, a resource block occupies 12 consecutivesubcarriers and a specified number of symbols. Common resource blocksare the set of resource blocks that occupy a channel bandwidth. Abandwidth part (BWP) is a set of contiguous common resource blocks andmay include all the common resource blocks within a channel bandwidth ora subset of the common resource blocks. Also, a DL PRS Point A parameterdefines a frequency of a reference resource block (and the lowestsubcarrier of the resource block), with DL PRS resources belonging tothe same DL PRS resource set having the same Point A and all DL PRSresource sets belonging to the same frequency layer having the samePoint A. A frequency layer also has the same DL PRS bandwidth, the samestart PRB (and center frequency), and the same value of comb size (i.e.,a frequency of PRS resource elements per symbol such that for comb-N,every N^(th) resource element is a PRS resource element). A PRS resourceset is identified by a PRS resource set ID and may be associated with aparticular TRP (identified by a cell ID) transmitted by an antenna panelof a base station. A PRS resource ID in a PRS resource set may beassociated with an omnidirectional signal, and/or with a single beam(and/or beam ID) transmitted from a single base station (where a basestation may transmit one or more beams). Each PRS resource of a PRSresource set may be transmitted on a different beam and as such, a PRSresource (or simply resource) can also be referred to as a beam. Thisdoes not have any implications on whether the base stations and thebeams on which PRS are transmitted are known to the UE.

A TRP may be configured, e.g., by instructions received from a serverand/or by software in the TRP, to send DL PRS per a schedule. Accordingto the schedule, the TRP may send the DL PRS intermittently, e.g.,periodically at a consistent interval from an initial transmission. TheTRP may be configured to send one or more PRS resource sets. A resourceset is a collection of PRS resources across one TRP, with the resourceshaving the same periodicity, a common muting pattern configuration (ifany), and the same repetition factor across slots. Each of the PRSresource sets comprises multiple PRS resources, with each PRS resourcecomprising multiple OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing)Resource Elements (REs) that may be in multiple Resource Blocks (RBs)within N (one or more) consecutive symbol(s) within a slot. PRSresources (or reference signal (RS) resources generally) may be referredto as OFDM PRS resources (or OFDM RS resources). An RB is a collectionof REs spanning a quantity of one or more consecutive symbols in thetime domain and a quantity (12 for a 5G RB) of consecutive sub-carriersin the frequency domain. Each PRS resource is configured with an REoffset, slot offset, a symbol offset within a slot, and a number ofconsecutive symbols that the PRS resource may occupy within a slot. TheRE offset defines the starting RE offset of the first symbol within a DLPRS resource in frequency. The relative RE offsets of the remainingsymbols within a DL PRS resource are defined based on the initialoffset. The slot offset is the starting slot of the DL PRS resource withrespect to a corresponding resource set slot offset. The symbol offsetdetermines the starting symbol of the DL PRS resource within thestarting slot. Transmitted REs may repeat across slots, with eachtransmission being called a repetition such that there may be multiplerepetitions in a PRS resource. The DL PRS resources in a DL PRS resourceset are associated with the same TRP and each DL PRS resource has a DLPRS resource ID. A DL PRS resource ID in a DL PRS resource set isassociated with a single beam transmitted from a single TRP (although aTRP may transmit one or more beams).

A PRS resource may also be defined by quasi-co-location and start PRBparameters. A quasi-co-location (QCL) parameter may define anyquasi-co-location information of the DL PRS resource with otherreference signals. The DL PRS may be configured to be QCL type D with aDL PRS or SS/PBCH (Synchronization Signal/Physical Broadcast Channel)Block from a serving cell or a non-serving cell. The DL PRS may beconfigured to be QCL type C with an SS/PBCH Block from a serving cell ora non-serving cell. The start PRB parameter defines the starting PRBindex of the DL PRS resource with respect to reference Point A. Thestarting PRB index has a granularity of one PRB and may have a minimumvalue of 0 and a maximum value of 2176 PRBs.

A PRS resource set is a collection of PRS resources with the sameperiodicity, same muting pattern configuration (if any), and the samerepetition factor across slots. Every time all repetitions of all PRSresources of the PRS resource set are configured to be transmitted isreferred as an “instance”. Therefore, an “instance” of a PRS resourceset is a specified number of repetitions for each PRS resource and aspecified number of PRS resources within the PRS resource set such thatonce the specified number of repetitions are transmitted for each of thespecified number of PRS resources, the instance is complete. An instancemay also be referred to as an “occasion.” A DL PRS configurationincluding a DL PRS transmission schedule may be provided to a UE tofacilitate (or even enable) the UE to measure the DL PRS.

Multiple frequency layers of PRS may be aggregated to provide aneffective bandwidth that is larger than any of the bandwidths of thelayers individually. Multiple frequency layers of component carriers(which may be consecutive and/or separate) and meeting criteria such asbeing quasi co-located (QCLed), and having the same antenna port, may bestitched to provide a larger effective PRS bandwidth (for DL PRS and ULPRS) resulting in increased time of arrival measurement accuracy.Stitching comprises combining measurements (e.g., of PRS and asupplemental signal) over individual bandwidth fragments into a unifiedpiece such that the stitched signal may be treated as having been takenfrom a single measurement. Being QCLed, the different frequency layersbehave similarly, enabling stitching to yield the larger effectivebandwidth. The larger effective bandwidth, which may be referred to asthe bandwidth of an aggregated signal or the frequency bandwidth of anaggregated signal, provides for better time-domain resolution (e.g., ofTDOA). An aggregated signal includes a collection of signal resourcesand each signal resource of an aggregated signal may be called a signalcomponent, and each signal component may be transmitted on differentcomponent carriers, bands, or frequency layers, or on different portionsof the same band.

RTT positioning is an active positioning technique in that RTT usespositioning signals sent by TRPs to UEs and by UEs (that areparticipating in RTT positioning) to TRPs. The TRPs may send DL-PRSsignals that are received by the UEs and the UEs may send SRS (SoundingReference Signal) signals that are received by multiple TRPs. A soundingreference signal may be referred to as an SRS or an SRS signal. In 5Gmulti-RTT, coordinated positioning may be used with the UE sending asingle UL-SRS for positioning that is received by multiple TRPs insteadof sending a separate UL-SRS for positioning for each TRP. A TRP thatparticipates in multi-RTT will typically search for UEs that arecurrently camped on that TRP (served UEs, with the TRP being a servingTRP) and also UEs that are camped on neighboring TRPs (neighbor UEs).Neighbor TRPs may be TRPs of a single BTS (e.g., gNB), or may be a TRPof one BTS and a TRP of a separate BTS. For RTT positioning, includingmulti-RTT positioning, the DL-PRS signal and the UL-SRS for positioningsignal in a PRS/SRS for positioning signal pair used to determine RTT(and thus used to determine range between the UE and the TRP) may occurclose in time to each other such that errors due to UE motion and/or UEclock drift and/or TRP clock drift are within acceptable limits. Forexample, signals in a PRS/SRS for positioning signal pair may betransmitted from the TRP and the UE, respectively, within about 10 ms ofeach other. With SRS for positioning signals being sent by UEs, and withPRS and SRS for positioning signals being conveyed close in time to eachother, it has been found that radio-frequency (RF) signal congestion mayresult (which may cause excessive noise, etc.) especially if many UEsattempt positioning concurrently and/or that computational congestionmay result at the TRPs that are trying to measure many UEs concurrently.

RTT positioning may be UE-based or UE-assisted. In UE-based RTT, the UE200 determines the RTT and corresponding range to each of the TRPs 300and the position of the UE 200 based on the ranges to the TRPs 300 andknown locations of the TRPs 300. In UE-assisted RTT, the UE 200 measurespositioning signals and provides measurement information to the TRP 300,and the TRP 300 determines the RTT and range. The TRP 300 providesranges to a location server, e.g., the server 400, and the serverdetermines the location of the UE 200, e.g., based on ranges todifferent TRPs 300. The RTT and/or range may be determined by the TRP300 that received the signal(s) from the UE 200, by this TRP 300 incombination with one or more other devices, e.g., one or more other TRPs300 and/or the server 400, or by one or more devices other than the TRP300 that received the signal(s) from the UE 200.

Various positioning techniques are supported in 5G NR. The NR nativepositioning methods supported in 5G NR include DL-only positioningmethods, UL-only positioning methods, and DL+UL positioning methods.Downlink-based positioning methods include DL-TDOA and DL-AoD.Uplink-based positioning methods include UL-TDOA and UL-AoA. CombinedDL+UL-based positioning methods include RTT with one base station andRTT with multiple base stations (multi-RTT).

A position estimate (e.g., for a UE) may be referred to by other names,such as a location estimate, location, position, position fix, fix, orthe like. A position estimate may be geodetic and comprise coordinates(e.g., latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude) or may be civic andcomprise a street address, postal address, or some other verbaldescription of a location. A position estimate may further be definedrelative to some other known location or defined in absolute terms(e.g., using latitude, longitude, and possibly altitude). A positionestimate may include an expected error or uncertainty (e.g., byincluding an area or volume within which the location is expected to beincluded with some specified or default level of confidence).

Combined Processing of PRS and Supplemental Signal

Various techniques may be implemented to facilitate and/or improvesignal processing of wireless signals, e.g., for positioning. Forexample, PRS may be transmitted by TRPs as frequency-hopped PRS, withdifferent portions of the PRS having different center frequencies, andthe frequency-hopped PRS portions processed in combination to determineposition information, e.g., one or more measurements such as ToA,position of a UE, etc. The determined position information may be ofgreater accuracy than position information determined from PRS that arenot frequency hopped and that span a smaller bandwidth than thecombined, frequency-hopped PRS. As another example, DL PRS resourcerepetition may facilitate or enable receive beam sweeping acrossrepetitions, combining gains for coverage extension, and/orintra-instance muting. As another example, a PRS may be processed incombination with a supplemental signal to increase the bandwidth ofprocessed signals, e.g., to improve measurement accuracy (e.g., ToAaccuracy). The PRS and the supplemental signal may span differentfrequency ranges, although the ranges may at least partially overlap.The supplemental signal may be a non-PRS signal such as a signal used(e.g., measured) for one or more other (non-positioning) purposes butthat is used for positioning purposes in addition to the otherpurpose(s) such that an additional blind search for the supplementalsignal for positioning purpose(s) may be avoided. The supplementalsignal may be a broadcast signal such that the supplemental signal isnot UE specific. The supplemental signal may be periodically broadcast.By processing the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination, morebandwidth than the bandwidth of the PRS is processed, which may increasethe accuracy of measurements derived by processing the PRS and thesupplemental signal compared to processing the PRS alone.

Referring to FIG. 5 , with further reference to FIGS. 1-4 , a UE 500includes a processor 510, an interface 520, and a memory 530communicatively coupled to each other by a bus 540. The UE 500 mayinclude the components shown in FIG. 5 , and may include one or moreother components such as any of those shown in FIG. 2 such that the UE200 may be an example of the UE 500. For example, the processor 510 mayinclude one or more of the components of the processor 210. Theinterface 520 may include one or more of the components of thetransceiver 215, e.g., the wireless transmitter 242 and the antenna 246,or the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246, or the wirelesstransmitter 242, the wireless receiver 244, and the antenna 246. Also oralternatively, the interface 520 may include the wired transmitter 252and/or the wired receiver 254. The memory 530 may be configuredsimilarly to the memory 211, e.g., including software withprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 510 toperform functions.

The description herein may refer to the processor 510 performing afunction, but this includes other implementations such as where theprocessor 510 executes software (stored in the memory 530) and/orfirmware. The description herein may refer to the UE 500 performing afunction as shorthand for one or more appropriate components (e.g., theprocessor 510 and the memory 530) of the UE 500 performing the function.The processor 510 (possibly in conjunction with the memory 530 and, asappropriate, the interface 520) includes a combined processing unit 550configured to process PRS and a supplemental signal in combination(e.g., coherently or non-coherently combining the PRS and thesupplemental signal), which may be called stitching. The combinedprocessing unit 550 may be configured to report one or more processingcapabilities of the UE 500 regarding processing the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination and/or to report that the PRS and thesupplemental signal were processed in combination to provide reportedposition information (e.g., one or more measurements, one or moreranges, one or more position estimates, etc.). The combined processingunit 550 is discussed further below, and the description may refer tothe processor 510 generally, or the UE 500 generally, as performing anyof the functions of the combined processing unit 550, with the UE 500being configured to perform the discussed functions.

Referring also to FIG. 6 , a network entity 600 includes a processor610, an interface 620, and a memory 630 communicatively coupled to eachother by a bus 640. The network entity 600 may include the componentsshown in FIG. 6 , and may include one or more other components such asany of those shown in FIG. 3 and/or FIG. 4 such that the TRP 300 and/orthe server 400 may be an example of the network entity 600 (e.g., thenetwork entity 600 may provide both TRP and server features). Forexample, the interface 620 may include one or more of the components ofthe transceiver 315, e.g., the wireless transmitter 342 and the antenna346 and/or the wireless receiver 344 and the antenna 346. Also oralternatively, the interface 520 may include the wired transmitter 352and/or the wired receiver 354. Also or alternatively, the interface 620may include one or more of the components of the transceiver 415, e.g.,the wireless transmitter 442 and the antenna 446 and/or the wirelessreceiver 444 and the antenna 446 and/or the wired transmitter 452 and/orthe wired receiver 454. The memory 630 may be configured similarly tothe memory 311 and/or the memory 411, e.g., including software withprocessor-readable instructions configured to cause the processor 610 toperform functions.

The description herein may refer to the processor 610 performing afunction, but this includes other implementations such as where theprocessor 610 executes software (stored in the memory 630) and/orfirmware. The description herein may refer to the network entity 600performing a function as shorthand for one or more appropriatecomponents (e.g., the processor 610 and the memory 630) of the networkentity 600 performing the function. The processor 610 (possibly inconjunction with the memory 630 and, as appropriate, the interface 620)includes a scheduling unit 650 and a positioning timeline unit 660. Thescheduling unit 650 is configured to request transmission of DL PRS,e.g., for a TRP 300 to transmit DL PRS with one or more indicatedtransmission characteristics (e.g., timing, frequency, etc.). Thescheduling unit 650 may send a request for transmission of PRS and asupplemental signal via the interface 620 to a TRP 300, e.g., if thenetwork entity 600 is a server, or may send the request to anotherportion of the processor 610, e.g., if the network entity 600 includes aTRP. The indicated transmission characteristic(s) may facilitatecombined processing of the PRS and the supplemental signal by the UE500. One or more of the indicated transmission characteristic(s) may bebased on one or more indicated capabilities of the UE 500 to process PRSand a supplemental signal in combination. The positioning timeline unit660 is configured to determine positioning timeline information such asan update rate of position information (e.g., one or more positionmeasurements of one or more positioning signals received by the UE 500,or location of the UE 500). The positioning timeline unit 660 may beconfigured to determine an accuracy of position information, e.g., anactual accuracy of a determined position of the UE 500 or an expectedaccuracy of position information such as one or more signal measurementsand/or a position of the UE 500. The positioning timeline unit 660 maybe configured to determine the positioning timeline information based ona processing capability of the UE 500 for processing PRS and asupplemental signal in combination. The scheduling unit 650 and thepositioning timeline unit 660 are discussed further herein, and thedescription may refer to the processor 610 generally, or the networkentity 600 generally, as performing any of the functions of thescheduling unit 650 and/or the positioning timeline unit 660, with thenetwork entity 600 being configured to perform the discussed functions.

Referring also to FIGS. 7 and 8 , signals that are frequency divisionmultiplexed and/or time division multiplexed may be stitched by thecombined processing unit 550 of the UE 500. For example, a signal 710and a signal 720 are frequency division multiplexed (at least partiallynot overlapping in the frequency domain) and not time divisionmultiplexed, spanning the same time window. The signals 710, 720 aretime division multiplexed with a signal 730, with the signals 710, 730being both time division multiplexed and frequency division multiplexed.The signals 710, 720, 730 may be represented by h(f₁, t₁), h(f₂, t₁),h(f₂, t₂), respectively. Pairs of the signals 710, 720, 730 are relatedthrough a respective phase offset and a respective phase slope. As shownin FIG. 8 , each signal in a pair of signals has a respective time ofdeparture (TOD) from a transmitter 810 and time of arrival (TOA) at areceiver 820, with time values t₁ and t₂ being the respective TOAs plusrespective clock drifts ε₁, ε₂. A relationship between the signals 710,730 (h(f₁, t₁), h(f₂, t₂)) may be given by

h(f ₂ +f,t ₂)=h(f ₁ +f,t ₁)×e ^(−jf(t) ² ^(−t) ¹ ^(−R(TOD) ² ^(−TOD) ¹⁾⁾ e ^(jθ)  (1)

where θ is a phase discontinuity (phase jump, phase offset) between thesignals 710, 730, and

$\begin{matrix}{R = \frac{1 + \delta_{B}}{1 + \delta_{A}}} & (2)\end{matrix}$

where R is compression factor, δ_(A) is a timing drift in thetransmitter 810, and δ_(B) is a timing drift in the receiver 820.Determination of the phase discontinuity and timing drift may be greatlysimplified (and thus determined faster) if the signals being stitched atleast partially overlap in the frequency domain, i.e., have one or moreoverlapping tones, e.g., as with the signal 710 and a signal 740.

Referring to FIG. 9 , with further reference to FIG. 5 , the combinedprocessing unit 550 may be configured to process PRS in combination withan SSB signal (Synchronization Signal Block signal) as the supplementalsignal. For example, the combined processing unit 550 may use a PBCHDMRS (Demodulation Reference Signal) and SSS (Secondary SynchronizationSignal) 910 (shown as shaded RBs from RB 5 to RB 16) of the SSB incombination with PRS to measure ToA and derive RSTD and/or Rx-Txmeasurements. The SSB may thus be used for multiple purposes. Thecombined processing unit 550 may be configured to avoid processing(e.g., not process) a PSS (Primary Synchronization Signal) 920 (shown asshaded RBs from RB 5 to RB 16) for use in positioning as the PSS may beshared across cells whereas the SSS 910 is cell specific. The UE 500 maybe configured with SSB information from neighboring cells and thecombined processing unit 550 may obtain the SSB information, e.g., byaccessing already-specified information stored in the memory 530. Thecombined processing unit 550 may be configured to use only the SSBsignals that are identified for RRM (Radio Resource Management)measurements to help avoid (blind) searching for the SSB signal(s) inaddition to the search(es) for the SSBs for RRM measurement. Thecombined processing unit 550 may measure the ToA of the combination ofthe PRS and SSB signals. As the SSB signals are also being used for oneor more non-positioning purposes, there may not be any muting or ameasurement gap provided for measuring the SSB signals. Consequently,the measurement period for measuring the SSB signals may be longer thanthe measurement period for measuring PRS.

Referring to FIG. 10 , with further reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 , thescheduling unit 650 of the network entity 600 may be configured toschedule PRS and a supplemental signal (e.g., SSB) to facilitatecombined processing (stitching) of the PRS and supplemental signal andthe combined processing unit 550 may be configured to process the PRSand supplemental signal in combination. For example, it may be desirablefor the UE 500 to process a PRS 1010 in combination with a supplementalsignal 1020, here an SSB signal. For example, the UE 500 (e.g., areduced-capability UE) may be unable to process a full DL-PRS resourcebandwidth 1030, and/or may desire to increase an effective bandwidth ofprocessed DL-PRS for another reason, e.g., to improve measurementaccuracy. The combined processing unit 550 may be configured to processthe PRS 1010 in combination with the supplemental signal 1020, e.g.,multiple instances 1022, 1023 of the supplemental signal 1020, toincrease an effective bandwidth of the DL-PRS, e.g., to enable obtainingone or more measurements and/or improving accuracy of themeasurement(s).

The combined processing unit 550 may be configured to process the PRSand the supplemental signal in combination to determine positioninformation (e.g., a signal measurement, or a position of the UE 500).For example, the combined processing unit 550 may coherently combine thePRS and the supplemental signal by compensating for phase difference, ifany, when processing samples of the PRS and the supplemental signal,e.g., with a single IFFT (Inverse Fast Fourier Transform). Combining thePRS with the supplemental signal, with each of the PRS and thesupplemental signal having at least some non-shared tones (each spanningsome frequency range not spanned by the other), will increase theeffective PRS processing bandwidth to a composite bandwidth spanned bythe combination of the PRS and the supplemental signal. The combinedprocessing may increase position determination performance, e.g., ToAaccuracy (e.g., due to finer resolution of a correlation peak in thetime domain due to the larger bandwidth). The combined processing unit550 may, for example, populate an IFFT buffer with samples fromdifferent frequencies of the PRS and the supplemental signal (e.g.,different center frequencies) as if the PRS and the supplemental signalwere transmitted in the same symbol. Thus, for example, referring alsoto FIG. 10 , the combined processing unit 550 may be able to coherentlycombine the PRS 1010 and the multiple instances 1022, 1023 of thesupplemental signal 1020 to yield position information, e.g., a singleToA for the combination of the PRS 1010 and the supplemental signal1020. The combined processing unit 550 may be able to combine PRS andsupplemental signals that are TDMed (Time Division Multiplexed) butthere may be constraints on the time separation between the PRS and thesupplemental signal. For example, measurement accuracy may decrease withincreasing time separation between the PRS and the supplemental signal.Similarly, measurement accuracy may decrease with increasing separationin frequency between the PRS and the supplemental signal. There may be atradeoff between frequency overlap and accuracy and/or latency, e.g.,with increasing overlap making parameter estimation simpler, quicker,and more accurate while also decreasing effective bandwidth and thusdecreasing measurement accuracy, and decreasing overlap making parameterestimation more complex, slower, and less accurate while also increasingeffective bandwidth and thus increasing measurement accuracy (althoughonce the signals do not overlap in frequency, further separation infrequency may further worsen parameter estimation without increasingeffective bandwidth).

Referring also to FIG. 11 , the combined processing unit 550 may beconfigured to report the capability of the UE 500 to process PRS and asupplemental signal in combination, i.e., to stitch PRS and asupplemental signal. The combined processing unit 550 may be configuredto report that the UE 500 may process PRS and a supplemental signal incombination along with one or more criteria affecting the ability of theUE 500 to stitch the PRS and the supplemental signal. The combinedprocessing unit 550 may be configured to send a report 1100 to thenetwork entity 600 (e.g., the TRP 300 and/or the server 400) including astitching capability field 1110 (a combined signal processing capabilityfield), a frequency band/band combination field 1120, a PRS propertiesfield 1130, a supplemental signal type field 1140, a supplemental signalproperties field 1145, a maximum numerology difference field 1147, anaccuracy field 1150, a minimum frequency overlap field 1160, a maximumfrequency separation field 1165, a maximum time separation field 1170, aphase offset field 1180, a time drift field 1190, and a validity timefield 1195. The report 1100 is an example, and one or more of the fieldsshown of the report 1100 may be omitted, and one or more other fieldsnot shown may be added (i.e., included). For example, the frequencyband/band combination field 1120 may be omitted, e.g., if the frequencyband or band combination is implicit in one or more values of one ormore of the other fields. As another example, the stitching capabilityfield 1110 (also called a combined signal processing field) may beomitted, with the presence of values in one or more of the includedfields implying the ability to stitch signals. As another example, amaximum total bandwidth field may be included, indicating a maximumnon-overlapping composite bandwidth of the PRS and the supplementalsignal that the UE 500 is capable of processing in combination. Asanother example, a maximum total time field may be included indicating amaximum amount of time over which the PRS and the supplemental signalmay be received by the UE 500 for processing in combination. Further,the values shown in the report 1100 are shown for illustration purposes.The fields other than the stitching capability field 1110 and theaccuracy field 1150 may indicate values to be satisfied in order for theUE 500 to be capable of providing (or for the UE 500 to guaranteeprovision of) the accuracy(ies) indicated in the accuracy field 1150.

The various fields of the report 1100 indicate whether the UE 500 iscapable of processing the corresponding signals, meeting thecorresponding criteria indicated, and possibly what accuracy may beprovided by the UE 500 for the signals meeting the criteria. Forexample, the stitching capability field 1110 may indicate whether the UE500 is able to stitch PRS and a supplemental signal for thecorresponding frequency band or frequency band combination indicated inthe field 1120, at least while providing the indicated accuracy(ies)(discussed below). The combined processing unit 550 may thus indicatethe capability of the UE 500 to process PRS and a supplemental signal incombination on a per frequency band and/or per frequency bandcombination basis. An indication that a frequency band combination issupported for stitching indicates that the UE 500 would allow cross-bandstitching (e.g., of PRS and SSB). For an indication in the field 1110that stitching is not supported for the corresponding frequencyband/band combination, the remaining fields of the report 1100 may befilled with null values. The PRS properties field 1130 may indicate oneor more properties for the PRS to have in order for the combinedprocessing unit 550 to be capable of processing the PRS in combinationwith the supplemental signal. For example, the PRS properties mayinclude frequency layer, comb number, numerology (e.g., subcarrierspacing (SCS)), etc. The PRS properties may include a PRS type, e.g.,DL-PRS, SL-PRS, UL-PRS, which may imply one or more other properties.The report 1100 may thus indicate the supplemental signal generically,e.g., indicating one or more properties of the supplemental signal. Alsoor alternatively, the report 1100 may identify the supplemental signalspecifically, e.g., by indicating a signal type such as SSB. Thesupplemental signal type field 1140 may indicate the type ofsupplemental signal, e.g., SSB, PBCH DMRS, SSS, etc. The supplementalsignal type field 1140 may be omitted, or the supplemental signalproperties field 1145 may be omitted if the supplemental signal typefield 1140 is included and a value of the supplemental signal type field1140 implies the corresponding properties. The supplemental signalproperties field 1145 may indicate one or more properties for thesupplemental signal to have in order for the combined processing unit550 to be capable of processing the PRS in combination with thesupplemental signal, at least for the indicated frequency band/bandcombination and the indicated accuracy(ies) (discussed below). Forexample, the supplemental signal properties may include frequency layer,comb number, numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing (SCS)), etc. Themaximum numerology difference field 1147 may indicate a maximumdifference in the numerology of the PRS and the numerology of thesupplemental signal in order for the combined processing unit 550 to becapable of processing the PRS in combination with the supplementalsignal, at least for the indicated frequency band/band combination andthe indicated accuracy(ies). The maximum numerology difference may be anabsolute amount (e.g., a number of MHz) or a relative amount (e.g.,within 10% of each other). The accuracy field 1150 may indicate one ormore minimum accuracies of one or more indicated position informationtypes, e.g., measurement accuracy(ies) of ToA, RSTD, Rx-Tx, etc., thatcan be provided by the UE 500 if criteria indicated by values in theother fields are met. The minimum frequency overlap field 1160 mayindicate a minimum frequency overlap of the PRS and the supplementalsignal, e.g., a minimum number of tones for the PRS and the supplementalsignal to have in common. The maximum frequency separation field 1165may indicate a maximum frequency gap (e.g., maximum number of sub-bands)between a bandwidth of the PRS and a bandwidth of the supplementalsignal (e.g., an instance of the supplemental signal nearest infrequency to the PRS). The maximum time separation field 1170 mayindicate a maximum time gap between the PRS and an instance of thesupplemental signal nearest in time to the PRS (e.g., an end of thePRS/supplemental signal and a beginning of the supplemental signal/PRS).The maximum time separation may be specified in time (e.g., nanoseconds)or other terms, e.g., symbols. The phase offset field 1180 and the timedrift field 1190 may indicate a maximum allowable phase offset, and amaximum allowable time drift, respectively, between the PRS and thesupplemental signal. The validity time field 1195 indicates a time forwhich the set of other corresponding field values is valid, or at leastthe value of the accuracy field 1150 (e.g., the UE 500 may be able toprocess the PRS and supplemental field given the other values but notguarantee the accuracy value outside of the time-domain window indicatedby the validity time field 1195). The validity time may be indicated ina variety of ways, e.g., an amount of time of the time window, or abeginning time and an end time of a time window.

The combined processing unit 550 may be configured to provide anindication of what quality of processing can be provided withcorresponding combined PRS and supplemental signal processing. Forexample, the combined processing unit 550 may report an error rate aspart of the accuracy and may be configured to report what accuracy maybe achieved for a future positioning signal measurement based on acorresponding combination of PRS and supplemental signal. Differentaccuracies may be provided for different bandwidths of the combined PRSand supplemental signal (e.g., 50% absolute ToA error of 5 ns with a 100MHz bandwidth, 2.5 ns with a 200 MHz bandwidth, and 1.2 ns with a 400MHz bandwidth). The accuracy that may be achieved by the combinedprocessing unit 550 may depend on a total frequency of the combined PRSand supplemental signal and/or may depend on the frequency span of thecombined PRS and supplemental signal and not simply the total bandwidthof the PRS and the supplemental signal individually (e.g., 300 MHz forsignals of 200 MHz each that overlap by 100 MHz).

The combined processing unit 550 may be configured to provide anindication of a processing time of the UE 500 to process a combinationof the PRS and the supplemental signal to determine positioninformation. For example, the combined processing unit 550 may beconfigured provide a processing time indication in the report 1100 foreach combination of PRS and supplemental signal, or for a combinedbandwidth of the PRS and the supplemental signal, or for one or moreother characteristics of the PRS and the supplemental signal to beprocessed in combination.

One or more of the fields of the report 1100 may be coded. For example,one or more potential values for a field may be stored in the memory 530(e.g., statically during manufacture or dynamically in accordance withone or more received messages) and the value of a field (e.g., a bitstring) coded to indicate which value of the potential value(s) to use.For a single potential value, the bit string may be a single bitindicating whether or not to use the prestored value. The coded value(e.g., an index number) maps to the potential value(s), with the codedvalue using fewer bits than the potential value(s) thus savingcommunication overhead to indicate which of the potential value(s) touse.

The network entity 600 may be configured to provide PRS and asupplemental signal to enable and/or facilitate the UE 500 to processthe PRS and the supplemental signal in combination. For example, thenetwork entity 600 may request (e.g., send a request externally to theTRP 300 and/or send an internal request) for the PRS and thesupplemental signal to be FDMed and possibly TDMed. The network entity600 may send one or more messages (e.g., requests, signal configurationinformation, etc.) to the UE 500 whether the network entity 600 includesa TRP or not (e.g., using LPP signaling). The request may be based onthe report 1100 such that the PRS and the supplemental signal meet thecriteria indicated in at least one row of the report 1100. The networkentity 600 may be configured to request that the PRS and thesupplemental signal be TDMed, if at all, such that the PRS and thesupplemental signal are separated in time by a threshold time separationor less that will enable a measurement accuracy of the combined signalprocessing to be a threshold accuracy or better (e.g., to keep timedrift at or below a threshold time drift). Also or alternatively, thenetwork entity 600 may request that power scaling between the PRS andthe supplemental signal be indicated to the UE 500. For example, thenetwork entity 600 may request that a power scaling factor indicative ofa ratio of the EPRE (Energy Per Resource Element) of the PRS to the EPREof the supplemental signal (e.g., power scaling factor is X dB) beprovided to the UE 500. Also or alternatively, the network entity 600may be configured to request that the PRS and the supplemental signalare sent from antenna ports that are QCLed (Quasi Co-Located) and thususe the same beam. For example, the network entity 600 may request thatthe PRS and the supplemental signal be sent from antenna ports that areQCL type A or QCL type C. This may help ensure that the UE 500 may atleast non-coherently combine the PRS and the supplemental signal. Asanother example, the network entity 600 may request that the PRS and thesupplemental signal be sent using the same antenna port. In this case,the PRS and the supplemental signal will encounter the same channel andhave phase continuity such that the network entity 600 helps ensure thatthe UE 500 may coherently combine the PRS and the supplemental signal,e.g., between a PFL (Positioning Frequency Layer) and an SSB FL (SSBFrequency Layer).

Referring also to FIG. 12 , the combined processing unit 550 may beconfigured to send a report 1200 of position information andcorresponding signals processed in combination to determine the positioninformation. In this example, the report 1200 includes a positioninformation field 1210, a PRS field 1220, a supplemental signal field1230, and an accuracy field 1240. The position information field 1210indicates the position information determined and being reported. Theposition information may include, for example, a ToA value, an RSTDvalue, an Rx-Tx value, a position estimate, and/or a range, etc. The PRSfield 1220 indicates the PRS that was used to determine the positioninformation. The PRS field 1220 may indicate a type of PRS and/or one ormore properties of the PRS used. The supplemental signal field 1230 mayindicate a type of PRS and/or one or more properties of the supplementalsignal used. The accuracy field 1240 may report what accuracy (possiblyincluding what error rate) the determined position information (e.g.,positioning measurement) has, e.g., based on the signals combined todetermine the position information.

Operation

Referring to FIG. 13 , with further reference to FIGS. 1-12 , asignaling and process flow 1300 for determining position informationfrom combined processing of PRS and a supplemental signal includes thestages shown. The flow 1300 is an example, as stages may be added,rearranged, and/or removed. For example, stage 1310 may be omitted. Asanother example, stage 1370 and/or stage 1380 may be omitted.

At stage 1310, the UE 500 sends one or more indications of one or moreprocessing capabilities for processing PRS and a supplemental signal incombination. For example, the combined processing unit 550 may send aprocessing capability message 1312 to the network entity 600 thatindicates one or more abilities of the UE 500 for combined signalprocessing to determine position information. The processing capabilitymessage 1312 may, for example, be the report 1100 or another report,e.g., including some of the information of the report 1100. In thisexample, the network entity 600 includes the server 400 and the TRP 300.The processing capability message 1312 may be provided directly to theTRP 300 and/or the server 400 or may be provided indirectly to the TRP300 via the server 400 or indirectly via the server 400 to the TRP 300.

At stage 1320, the network entity 600 determines the signalconfiguration for signals to be processed in combination by the UE 500.The scheduling unit 650 may use information from the processingcapability message 1312 to determine properties (e.g., frequency,timing, etc.) of PRS and a supplemental signal to facilitate and/orenable combined processing by the UE 500. Also or alternatively, thescheduling unit 650 may use one or more criteria not in the processingcapability message 1312 to determine PRS and a supplemental signal thatthe UE 500 will be able to process in combination to meet one or moreperformance criteria, e.g., at least a threshold accuracy and/or no morethan a threshold latency.

At stage 1330, the network entity 600 sends a configuration message 1332to the UE 500 with the determined signal configuration. For example, thenetwork entity 600 may request a TRP to send the configuration message1332, e.g., requesting a TRP of the network entity 600, or requesting aTRP external to the network entity 600, to send the configurationmessage 1332 to the UE 500. The network entity 600 may, for example,request the TRP to schedule PRS and the supplemental signal to be sentusing the same antenna port.

At stage 1340, the network entity 600 determines position timelineinformation. For example, the positioning timeline unit 660 may beconfigured to use information from the processing capability message1312 to determine what latency to expect for receiving positioninformation from the UE 500 and/or what accuracy to expect from suchposition information. The positioning timeline unit 660 may use thisinformation to determine timing of determination of position of the UE500 with desired accuracy. The network entity 600 may determine accuracybased on the reported capability(ies) of the UE 500 for processing PRS,e.g., with the network entity 600 possibly determining what processingthe UE 500 will perform based on the reported capability(ies) and theconfiguration message 1332 provided at stage 1330, and determining theaccuracy based on the processing. Stage 1340 may be performed before,concurrently with, and/or after stage 1330.

At stage 1350, the network entity 600 (i.e., a TRP 300 of the networkentity 600) sends the PRS and the supplemental signal 1352 to the UE500. The PRS and the supplemental signal are sent in accordance with theconfigurations indicated by the configuration message 1332 (being FDMedand possibly TDMed) and are received by the UE 500.

At stage 1360, the UE 500 determines a positioning signal measurement.For example, the processor 510 may process the PRS and the supplementalsignal in combination (e.g., by coherently combining the PRS and thesupplemental signal, if possible, or non-coherently combining the PRSand the supplemental signal) to determine one or more measurements,e.g., ToA. For example, the processor 510 may process samples of the PRSand the supplemental signal jointly with a single IFFT to determine ameasurement (e.g., ToA, RSTD). By processing the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination, a larger bandwidth of signal isprocessed than processing the PRS alone, which may yield a more accuratemeasurement (and thus more accurate position information based on themeasurement). The processor 510 may use one or more measurements todetermine other position information, e.g., may use multiplemeasurements to determine a position estimate of the UE 500, range toanother entity, etc. The processor 510 may process the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination where some portions of the signalsmeet combining criteria and one or more other portions do not meet thecriteria. For example, if three instances of an SSB signal incombination with the PRS meet criteria but a fourth instance of the SSBsignal does not (e.g., is separated too much in time and/or frequencyand/or would result in too much total frequency and/or time), then thecombined processing unit 550 may combine process the PRS and the threeinstances of the SSB and ignore the fourth instance of the SSB (at leastfor combined processing with the PRS for positioning purposes).

At stage 1370, the UE 500 may send position information to the networkentity 600 in a position information message 1372. The positioninformation message 1372 may include raw signal information and/orprocessed positioning signal information such as a positioning referencesignal measurement and/or a position of the UE 500. The determinedposition of the UE 500 may be called a position estimate. The positioninformation message 1372 may include information regarding the PRS andthe supplemental signal processed to determine the correspondingposition information. For example, the position information message 1372may include the report 1200 indicating what PRS and what supplementalsignal were processed in combination and the accuracy of the positioninformation. The information regarding the PRS and the supplementalsignal processed to determine the position information may be includedin a quality metric. The UE 500 may report the combined processing ofthe PRS and the supplemental signal even if the UE 500 did not send theprocessing capability message 1312 and/or the network entity did notreceive the processing capability message 1312 or use the processingcapability message 1312 for the configuration of the PRS and/or thesupplemental signal. For example, the network entity 600 may send thePRS and the supplemental signal with configurations (e.g., properties)that enable the UE 500 to process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination, regardless of why the configurations were used. The UE 500may indicate that combined processing of PRS and a supplemental signalwere performed regardless of why the combined processing was performed.

At stage 1380, the network entity 600 may determine position informationfor the UE 500. The network entity 600 may collect position informationfrom one or more position information messages 1372 and perform one ormore positioning techniques to determine further position informationfor, e.g., the location of, the UE 500. The network entity 600 may useposition information from the message(s) 1372 to updatepreviously-determined position information for the UE 500. The networkentity 600 may determine accuracy of the position information based onthe reported capability(ies) of the UE 500 for processing the PRS andthe supplemental signal, an indication of the actual processingperformed by the UE 500 on the PRS and the supplemental signal, and/orproperties of the PRS and the supplemental signal processed by the UE500. Thus, the position information accuracy may be implicitlydetermined in addition to or instead of an explicit indication of theaccuracy provided by the UE 500.

Referring to FIG. 14 , with further reference to FIGS. 1-13 , a signalprocessing method 1400 includes the stages shown. The method 1400 is,however, an example and not limiting. The method 1400 may be altered,e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged, combined, performedconcurrently, and/or having single stages split into multiple stages.

At stage 1410, the method 1400 includes receiving, at a UE, a PRS and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signaland spanning a first frequency range at least partially outside of asecond frequency range spanned by the PRS. For example, the UE 500receives the PRS and the supplemental signal 1352 from the networkentity 600 with the PRS and the supplemental signal being FDMed andpossibly TDMed. The processor 510, the memory 530, and the interface 520(e.g., the wireless receiver 244 and the antenna 246) may comprise meansfor receiving the PRS and the supplemental signal.

At stage 1420, the method 1400 includes processing, at the UE, the PRSand the supplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effectivesignal bandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, todetermine position information. For example, the combined processingunit 550 applies a single IFFT and/or other processing to the PRS andthe supplemental signal, e.g., an SSB signal, to determine one or moremeasurements, e.g., ToA, RSTD, a position estimate, etc. This may yieldmore accurate position information than processing the PRS alone due tothe larger bandwidth of the combination of the PRS and the supplementalsignal. The processor 510 and the memory 530 may comprise means forprocessing the PRS and the supplemental signal.

At stage 1430, the method 1400 includes at least one of: transmitting acapability message, from the UE to a network entity, indicating aprocessing capability of the user equipment to process, in combination,the PRS and the supplemental signal; or transmitting asignal-combination indication, from the UE to the network entity,indicating that the processor processed the PRS and the supplementalsignal in combination to determine the position information. For thecapability message, the combined processing unit 550 may, for example,send the processing capability message 1312, e.g., the report 1100and/or another message, to the network entity 600 indicating acapability of the UE 500 to process PRS and a supplemental signal incombination, and possibly one or more criteria for the processing, e.g.,in order to provide an indicated accuracy (e.g., indicated in theprocessing capability message 1312). The combined processing unit 550may send the capability message before the UE receives the PRS and/orthe supplemental signal. Sending the capability message may help ensurethat appropriate signal (PRS and supplemental signal) are sent to the UE500 to be able to determine position information with desired accuracyand/or latency. For the signal-combination indication, the combinedprocessing unit 550 may, for example, report the position informationand that the position information was determined by processing PRS and asupplemental signal in combination. The combined processing unit 550may, for example, send some or all of the report 1200, e.g., indicatingthe position information and the PRS and the supplemental signalprocessed in combination to determine the reported position information.Sending the signal-combination indication may help the network entity600 determine accuracy of the position information provided (even if notincluded in the signal-combination indication). The network entity 600may use the signal-combination indication to determine signalconfiguration(s) for future transmission to the UE 500 (e.g., todetermine one or more different signal configurations if desiredaccuracy and/or latency was not achieved). The processor 510, the memory530, and the interface 520 (e.g., the wireless transmitter 242 and theantenna 246) may comprise means for transmitting the capability messageand/or means for transmitting the signal-combination indication.

Implementations of the method 1400 may include one or more of thefollowing features. In an example implementation, the supplementalsignal may comprise a supplemental signal block (SSB) signal. In anotherexample implementation, processing the PRS and the supplemental signalin combination may comprise coherently combining the PRS and thesupplemental signal to determine the position information, e.g., by thecombined processing unit 550.

Also or alternatively, implementations of the method 1400 may includeone or more of the following features. In an example implementation, themethod 1400 includes transmitting the capability message, and the method1400 further includes producing the capability message to indicatewhether the UE is able to process the positioning reference signal andthe supplemental signal in combination with the positioning referencesignal and the supplemental signal having different numerologies. Forexample, the capability message may include the maximum numerologydifference field 1147 (and possibly the stitching capability field 1110)indicating an acceptable difference in numerologies between the PRS andthe supplemental signal, implicitly indicating that the UE 500 iscapable of combined processing of PRS and supplemental signals withdifferent numerologies. As another example, the capability message mayprovide an indication of the ability of the UE 500 to process PRS andsupplemental signals with different numerologies in combination, with orwithout indicating an acceptable numerology difference. In anotherexample implementation, the method 1400 includes transmitting thecapability message, and the method 1400 further includes producing thecapability message to indicate the processing capability of the UE toprocess, in combination, the positioning reference signal and thesupplemental signal and a corresponding frequency band or acorresponding frequency band combination. For example, the capabilitymessage may include the frequency band/band combination field 1120 (andpossibly the stitching capability field 1110) indicating a frequencyband and/or a frequency band combination for which the combinedprocessing unit 550 may process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal. In another example implementation, the method 1400includes transmitting the capability message, and the method 1400further includes producing the capability message to indicate a minimumoverlap of the first frequency range and the second frequency range. Forexample, the capability message may include the minimum frequencyoverlap field 1160 (and possibly the stitching capability field 1110)indicating, e.g., a minimum number of tones shared by the PRS and thesupplemental signal for combined processing thereof. In another exampleimplementation, the method 1400 includes transmitting the capabilitymessage, and the method 1400 further includes producing the capabilitymessage to indicate a maximum time associated with the PRS and thesupplemental signal. For example, the capability message may include themaximum time separation field 1170 (and possibly the stitchingcapability field 1110) indicating an allowable time gap between the PRSand the supplemental signal. In another example implementation, themethod 1400 includes transmitting the capability message, and the method1400 further includes producing the capability message to indicate aposition information accuracy and at least one of whether the PRS andthe supplemental signal overlap in frequency, an amount of frequencyoverlap of the PRS and the supplemental signal, a time drift accuracy,or a phase offset accuracy. For example, the capability message mayinclude the accuracy field 1150 (and possibly the stitching capabilityfield 1110) and the minimum frequency overlap field 1160, the phaseoffset field 1180, the time drift field 1190, and/or a field indicatingan overlap of the PRS and the supplemental field with or withoutindicating an amount of overlap. The processor 510 and the memory 530may comprise means for producing the capability message, e.g., in anyform of the capability message.

Also or alternatively, implementations of the method 1400 may includeone or more of the following features. In an example implementation, themethod 1400 includes transmitting the signal-combination indication, andthe method 1400 further includes producing the signal-combinationindication to indicate an accuracy of the position information. Forexample, the combined processing unit 550 may produce and send thereport 1200 including the accuracy field 1240. The processor 510 and thememory 530 may comprise means for producing the signal-combinationindication.

Referring to FIG. 15 , with further reference to FIGS. 1-13 , a signaltransmission requesting method 1500 includes the stages shown. Themethod 1500 is, however, an example and not limiting. The method 1500may be altered, e.g., by having stages added, removed, rearranged,combined, performed concurrently, and/or having single stages split intomultiple stages.

At stage 1510, the method 1500 includes receiving, at a network entityfrom a user equipment, a capability message indicating a processingcapability of the user equipment to process, in combination, a PRS and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal.For example, the network entity 600 receives the processing capabilitymessage 1312 from the UE 500. The processing capability message 1312 mayinclude, for example, the stitching capability field 1110 of the report1100 indicating an ability of the UE 500 to stitch PRS and asupplemental signal. The processor 610, the memory 630, and theinterface 620 (e.g., the wireless receiver 344 and the antenna 346and/or the wireless receiver 444 and the antenna 446 and/or the wiredreceiver 354 and/or the wired receiver 454) may comprise means forreceiving the capability message.

At stage 1520, the method 1500 includes requesting transmission of thePRS and the supplemental signal from a TRP in accordance with one ormore criteria to enable the user equipment to process, in combination,the PRS and the supplemental signal to meet at least one accuracythreshold. For example, the scheduling unit 650 may send a request(e.g., to a TRP internal to the network entity 600 or to a TRP externalto the network entity 600) to send the PRS and the supplemental signalwith one or more specified criteria. Requesting transmission of the PRSand the supplemental signal may help ensure accuracy (and possibly lowlatency) of position information determined by the UE. The processor 610and the memory 630, and possibly the interface 620 (e.g., the wirelesstransmitter 442 and the antenna 446 or the wired transmitter 452) maycomprise means for requesting transmission of the PRS and thesupplemental signal.

Implementations of the method 1500 may include one or more of thefollowing features. In an example implementation, the supplementalsignal is a synchronization signal block signal. In another exampleimplementation, requesting transmission of the PRS and the supplementalsignal comprises requesting the TRP to transmit the PRS and thesupplemental signal using the same antenna port. Using the same antennaport may help ensure that the UE 500 can coherently combine the PRS andthe supplemental signal, which may help improve position informationdetermination accuracy (e.g., compared to processing the PRSseparately). In another example implementation, requesting transmissionof the PRS and the supplemental signal comprises requesting the TRP totransmit the PRS and the supplemental signal using quasi co-locatedantenna ports. Using quasi co-located antenna ports may help ensure thatthe UE 500 can at least non-coherently combine the PRS and thesupplemental signal, which may help improve position informationdetermination accuracy (e.g., compared to processing the PRSseparately). In another example implementation, the method 1500 maycomprise analyzing the capability message for the one or more criteria.For example, the scheduling unit 650 may decode the processingcapability message 1312 and analyze the contents of the processingcapability message 1312 for one or more criteria (e.g., from the fields1120, 1140, 1145, 1147, 1150, 1165, 1170) for the PRS and thesupplemental signal to meet for the UE 500 to process the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination, and to request the TRP to send thePRS and the supplemental signal such that the PRS and the supplementalsignal have one or more of (e.g., all of) the indicated parameters forthe PRS and the supplemental signal. This may help ensure that the UE500 will be able to process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination, and help ensure that the UE 500 will be able to providedesired accuracy of position information within a desired amount of time(e.g., to keep latency low). Also or alternatively, one or more of theone or more criteria may be stored in the memory 630. In another exampleimplementation, the one or more criteria include relative timing of thePRS and the supplemental signal. For example, the scheduling unit 650may request the PRS and the supplemental signal to meet one or moretiming criteria, e.g., maximum time gap between the PRS and thesupplemental signal, to help ensure that the UE 500 will be able toprocess the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination. In anotherexample implementation, the method 1500 includes requesting the TRP totransmit, to the user equipment, a scaling factor indicative of a powerscaling between the PRS and the supplemental signal. For example, thescheduling unit 650 may send a request to a TRP (e.g., to a TRP internalto the network entity 600 or to a TRP external to the network entity600) for the TRP to send a power scaling factor indicating relativetransmit power of the PRS and the supplemental signal. The processor 610and the memory 630, and possibly the interface 620 (e.g., the wirelesstransmitter 442 and the antenna 446 or the wired transmitter 452) maycomprise means for requesting the TRP to transmit the scaling factor.

Other Considerations

Other examples and implementations are within the scope of thedisclosure and appended claims. For example, due to the nature ofsoftware and computers, functions described above can be implementedusing software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring,or a combination of any of these. Features implementing functions mayalso be physically located at various positions, including beingdistributed such that portions of functions are implemented at differentphysical locations.

As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include theplural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,” asused herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps,operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude thepresence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps,operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

Also, as used herein, “or” as used in a list of items (possibly prefacedby “at least one of” or prefaced by “one or more of”) indicates adisjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A,B, or C,” or a list of “one or more of A, B, or C” or a list of “A or Bor C” means A, or B, or C, or AB (A and B), or AC (A and C), or BC (Band C), or ABC (i.e., A and B and C), or combinations with more than onefeature (e.g., AA, AAB, ABBC, etc.). Thus, a recitation that an item,e.g., a processor, is configured to perform a function regarding atleast one of A or B, or a recitation that an item is configured toperform a function A or a function B, means that the item may beconfigured to perform the function regarding A, or may be configured toperform the function regarding B, or may be configured to perform thefunction regarding A and B. For example, a phrase of “a processorconfigured to measure at least one of A or B” or “a processor configuredto measure A or measure B” means that the processor may be configured tomeasure A (and may or may not be configured to measure B), or may beconfigured to measure B (and may or may not be configured to measure A),or may be configured to measure A and measure B (and may be configuredto select which, or both, of A and B to measure). Similarly, arecitation of a means for measuring at least one of A or B includesmeans for measuring A (which may or may not be able to measure B), ormeans for measuring B (and may or may not be configured to measure A),or means for measuring A and B (which may be able to select which, orboth, of A and B to measure). As another example, a recitation that anitem, e.g., a processor, is configured to at least one of performfunction X or perform function Y means that the item may be configuredto perform the function X, or may be configured to perform the functionY, or may be configured to perform the function X and to perform thefunction Y. For example, a phrase of “a processor configured to at leastone of measure X or measure Y” means that the processor may beconfigured to measure X (and may or may not be configured to measure Y),or may be configured to measure Y (and may or may not be configured tomeasure X), or may be configured to measure X and to measure Y (and maybe configured to select which, or both, of X and Y to measure).

As used herein, unless otherwise stated, a statement that a function oroperation is “based on” an item or condition means that the function oroperation is based on the stated item or condition and may be based onone or more items and/or conditions in addition to the stated item orcondition.

Substantial variations may be made in accordance with specificrequirements. For example, customized hardware might also be used,and/or particular elements might be implemented in hardware, software(including portable software, such as applets, etc.) executed by aprocessor, or both. Further, connection to other computing devices suchas network input/output devices may be employed. Components, functionalor otherwise, shown in the figures and/or discussed herein as beingconnected or communicating with each other are communicatively coupledunless otherwise noted. That is, they may be directly or indirectlyconnected to enable communication between them.

The systems and devices discussed above are examples. Variousconfigurations may omit, substitute, or add various procedures orcomponents as appropriate. For instance, features described with respectto certain configurations may be combined in various otherconfigurations. Different aspects and elements of the configurations maybe combined in a similar manner. Also, technology evolves and, thus,many of the elements are examples and do not limit the scope of thedisclosure or claims.

A wireless communication system is one in which communications areconveyed wirelessly, i.e., by electromagnetic and/or acoustic wavespropagating through atmospheric space rather than through a wire orother physical connection. A wireless communication network may not haveall communications transmitted wirelessly, but is configured to have atleast some communications transmitted wirelessly. Further, the term“wireless communication device,” or similar term, does not require thatthe functionality of the device is exclusively, or evenly primarily, forcommunication, or that the device be a mobile device, but indicates thatthe device includes wireless communication capability (one-way ortwo-way), e.g., includes at least one radio (each radio being part of atransmitter, receiver, or transceiver) for wireless communication.

Specific details are given in the description to provide a thoroughunderstanding of example configurations (including implementations).However, configurations may be practiced without these specific details.For example, well-known circuits, processes, algorithms, structures, andtechniques have been shown without unnecessary detail in order to avoidobscuring the configurations. This description provides exampleconfigurations, and does not limit the scope, applicability, orconfigurations of the claims. Rather, the preceding description of theconfigurations provides a description for implementing describedtechniques. Various changes may be made in the function and arrangementof elements.

The terms “processor-readable medium,” “machine-readable medium,” and“computer-readable medium,” as used herein, refer to any medium thatparticipates in providing data that causes a machine to operate in aspecific fashion. Using a computing platform, various processor-readablemedia might be involved in providing instructions/code to processor(s)for execution and/or might be used to store and/or carry suchinstructions/code (e.g., as signals). In many implementations, aprocessor-readable medium is a physical and/or tangible storage medium.Such a medium may take many forms, including but not limited to,non-volatile media and volatile media. Non-volatile media include, forexample, optical and/or magnetic disks. Volatile media include, withoutlimitation, dynamic memory.

Having described several example configurations, various modifications,alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used. For example, theabove elements may be components of a larger system, wherein other rulesmay take precedence over or otherwise modify the application of thedisclosure. Also, a number of operations may be undertaken before,during, or after the above elements are considered. Accordingly, theabove description does not bound the scope of the claims.

A statement that a value exceeds (or is more than or above) a firstthreshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value meets orexceeds a second threshold value that is slightly greater than the firstthreshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one value higherthan the first threshold value in the resolution of a computing system.A statement that a value is less than (or is within or below) a firstthreshold value is equivalent to a statement that the value is less thanor equal to a second threshold value that is slightly lower than thefirst threshold value, e.g., the second threshold value being one valuelower than the first threshold value in the resolution of a computingsystem.

1. A user equipment configured for wireless signal transfer, the userequipment comprising: an interface; a memory; and a processor,communicatively coupled to the interface and the memory, and configuredto: receive, via the interface, a PRS (positioning reference signal) anda supplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signaland spanning a first frequency range at least partially outside of asecond frequency range spanned by the PRS; process the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination, resulting in an effective signalbandwidth that is larger than the second frequency range, to determineposition information; and at least one of: transmit a capabilitymessage, via the interface to a network entity, indicating a processingcapability of the user equipment to process, in combination, the PRS andthe supplemental signal; or transmit a signal-combination indication,via the interface to the network entity, indicating that the processorprocessed the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination todetermine the position information.
 2. The user equipment of claim 1,wherein the supplemental signal is a synchronization signal blocksignal.
 3. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to coherently combine the PRS and the supplemental signal todetermine the position information.
 4. The user equipment of claim 1,wherein the processor is configured to transmit the capability messagewith the capability message further indicating whether the processor isable to process the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination withthe PRS and the supplemental signal having different numerologies. 5.The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured totransmit the capability message with the capability message indicatingthe processing capability of the user equipment to process, incombination, the PRS and the supplemental signal and a correspondingfrequency band or a corresponding frequency band combination.
 6. Theuser equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured totransmit the capability message with the capability message indicating aminimum overlap of the first frequency range and the second frequencyrange.
 7. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor isconfigured to transmit the capability message with the capabilitymessage indicating a maximum time associated with the PRS and thesupplemental signal.
 8. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein theprocessor is configured to transmit the capability message with thecapability message indicating a position information accuracy and atleast one of whether the PRS and the supplemental signal overlap infrequency, an amount of frequency overlap of the PRS and thesupplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or a phase offset accuracy.9. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured totransmit the signal-combination indication indicating an accuracy of theposition information.
 10. A user equipment configured for wirelesssignal transfer, the user equipment comprising: means for receiving aPRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplemental signal, thesupplemental signal being a broadcast signal and spanning a firstfrequency range at least partially outside of a second frequency rangespanned by the PRS; means for processing the PRS and the supplementalsignal in combination, resulting in an effective signal bandwidth thatis larger than the second frequency range, to determine positioninformation; and at least one of: first transmitting means fortransmitting a capability message, to a network entity, indicating aprocessing capability of the user equipment to process, in combination,the PRS and the supplemental signal; or second transmitting means fortransmitting a signal-combination indication, to the network entity,indicating that the user equipment processed the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination to determine the positioninformation.
 11. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein thesupplemental signal is a synchronization signal block signal.
 12. Theuser equipment of claim 10, wherein the means for processing comprisemeans for coherently combining the PRS and the supplemental signal todetermine the position information.
 13. The user equipment of claim 10,wherein the user equipment comprises the first transmitting means,wherein the capability message further indicates whether the userequipment is able to process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination with the PRS and the supplemental signal having differentnumerologies.
 14. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the userequipment comprises the first transmitting means, the user equipmentfurther comprising means for producing the capability message toindicate the processing capability of the user equipment to process, incombination, the PRS and the supplemental signal and a correspondingfrequency band or a corresponding frequency band combination.
 15. Theuser equipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment comprises thefirst transmitting means, the user equipment further comprising meansfor producing the capability message to indicate a minimum overlap ofthe first frequency range and the second frequency range.
 16. The userequipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment comprises the firsttransmitting means, the user equipment further comprising means forproducing the capability message to indicate a maximum time associatedwith the PRS and the supplemental signal.
 17. The user equipment ofclaim 10, wherein the user equipment comprises the first transmittingmeans, the user equipment further comprising means for producing thecapability message to indicate a position information accuracy and atleast one of whether the PRS and the supplemental signal overlap infrequency, an amount of frequency overlap of the PRS and thesupplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or a phase offset accuracy.18. The user equipment of claim 10, wherein the user equipment comprisesthe second transmitting means, the user equipment further comprisingmeans for producing the signal-combination indication to indicate anaccuracy of the position information.
 19. A signal processing methodcomprising: receiving, at a UE (user equipment), a PRS (positioningreference signal) and a supplemental signal, the supplemental signalbeing a broadcast signal and spanning a first frequency range at leastpartially outside of a second frequency range spanned by the PRS;processing, at the UE, the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination, resulting in an effective signal bandwidth that is largerthan the second frequency range, to determine position information; andat least one of: transmitting a capability message, from the UE to anetwork entity, indicating a processing capability of the UE to process,in combination, the PRS and the supplemental signal; or transmitting asignal-combination indication, from the UE to the network entity,indicating that the UE processed the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination to determine the position information.
 20. The signalprocessing method of claim 19, wherein the supplemental signal is asynchronization signal block signal.
 21. The signal processing method ofclaim 19, wherein processing the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination comprises coherently combining the PRS and the supplementalsignal to determine the position information.
 22. The signal processingmethod of claim 19, wherein the signal processing method comprisestransmitting the capability message, the signal processing methodfurther comprising producing the capability message to indicate whetherthe UE is able to process the PRS and the supplemental signal incombination with the PRS and the supplemental signal having differentnumerologies.
 23. The signal processing method of claim 19, wherein thesignal processing method comprises transmitting the capability message,the signal processing method further comprising producing the capabilitymessage to indicate the processing capability of the UE to process, incombination, the PRS and the supplemental signal and a correspondingfrequency band or a corresponding frequency band combination.
 24. Thesignal processing method of claim 19, wherein the signal processingmethod comprises transmitting the capability message, the signalprocessing method further comprising producing the capability message toindicate a minimum overlap of the first frequency range and the secondfrequency range.
 25. The signal processing method of claim 19, whereinthe signal processing method comprises transmitting the capabilitymessage, the signal processing method further comprising producing thecapability message to indicate a maximum time associated with the PRSand the supplemental signal.
 26. The signal processing method of claim19, wherein the signal processing method comprises transmitting thecapability message, the signal processing method further comprisingproducing the capability message to indicate a position informationaccuracy and at least one of whether the PRS and the supplemental signaloverlap in frequency, an amount of frequency overlap of the PRS and thesupplemental signal, a time drift accuracy, or a phase offset accuracy.27. The signal processing method of claim 19, wherein the signalprocessing method comprises transmitting the signal-combinationindication, the signal processing method further comprising producingthe signal-combination indication to indicate an accuracy of theposition information.
 28. A non-transitory, processor-readable storagemedium comprising processor-readable instructions configured to cause aprocessor of a UE (user equipment) to: receive a PRS (positioningreference signal) and a supplemental signal, the supplemental signalbeing a broadcast signal and spanning a first frequency range at leastpartially outside of a second frequency range spanned by the PRS;process the PRS and the supplemental signal in combination, resulting inan effective signal bandwidth that is larger than the second frequencyrange, to determine position information; and at least one of: transmita capability message, to a network entity, indicating a processingcapability of the UE to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal; or transmit a signal-combination indication, to thenetwork entity, indicating that the processor processed the PRS and thesupplemental signal in combination to determine the positioninformation.
 29. A network entity comprising: an interface; a memory;and a processor, communicatively coupled to the interface and thememory, and configured to: receive, via the interface, a capabilitymessage indicating a processing capability of a user equipment toprocess, in combination, a PRS (positioning reference signal) and asupplemental signal, the supplemental signal being a broadcast signal;and request transmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal from aTRP (transmission/reception point) in accordance with one or morecriteria to enable the user equipment to process, in combination, thePRS and the supplemental signal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.30. A signal transmission requesting method comprising: receiving, at anetwork entity from a user equipment, a capability message indicating aprocessing capability of the user equipment to process, in combination,a PRS (positioning reference signal) and a supplemental signal, thesupplemental signal being a broadcast signal; and requestingtransmission of the PRS and the supplemental signal from a TRP(transmission/reception point) in accordance with one or more criteriato enable the user equipment to process, in combination, the PRS and thesupplemental signal to meet at least one accuracy threshold.